This Time, It's Not A Dream
by TheFraggable74
Summary: After many failed attempts, Doofenshmirtz and Candace have decided to enact their most drastic plans to ensure their success. Will this spell the end of Phineas, Ferb, and the rest of Danville as we know it? STORY COMPLETED, CRITIQUE PLEASE!
1. Chapter 1: Before the Beginning

Chapter 1: Before the Beginning

It was just a normal summer day for Phineas and Ferb. The two had made their invention for the day, and it had just disappeared. Candace, who had gotten her mother to come home to see it, had once again been baffled by its failure to exist. Linda, after so many days had gotten fed up with Candace's constant "psychotic delusions". Candace was on the verge of breaking down into tears. Every day was the same. She would see some crazy, giant thing her brothers were making, and she would call her mother. Right when she comes home and they were about to be busted, everything just randomly disappears with no clue as to where they went. Well, this is the last time this is going to happen for her. "Those brats somehow get away with everything they do, every single day! But tomorrow is a new day. And with my newest plan, those two will never escape their BUSTING!" Candace said these words as she went into her room and pulled out a notebook, a set of blueprints, and a video camera (which, from previous experience, she had made sure to be waterproofed, fireproofed, crush-proofed, and "proofed" of pretty much any accident or natural force whatsoever). She had been planning this day for months, and it has finally come. She went to bed with a bitter smile on her face, knowing what tomorrow would bring for her and her entire family.

Meanwhile, at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., Heinz had his own daily routine. Every day, he would try to take over the tri-state area to no avail, as his nemesis, Perry, would thwart him every day and leave him in immense pain. However, tomorrow would be different for him, too. He pulled out blueprints of his own, with large letters reading "THE APOCALYPSINATOR" on it. He also had a metal crate with "ULTIMATE PLATYPUS TRAP" branded on it next to him. "Tomorrow is my final plan to take over this pitiful tri-state area! I still can't believe it's come to my most diabolical of plans, but this must be done if I am to ever become supreme ruler of the world…The last two and a half months have been a complete failure for my various attempts, but tomorrow marks the start of a new plan. A plan that may be too evil for my standards, but nonetheless, it's needed. Still, Perry, you will definitely not thwart me tomorrow, so be prepared. Be prepared for…the beginning." He had cleared the entire building besides what he had now, and sent everything he owned and loved into his DEI truck. Among these items was his beloved daughter, Vanessa, who at the moment was fast asleep and had no idea what was to happen tomorrow. The only things to be left in the building were a television screen, the to-be-set-up platypus trap, and the Apocalypsinator. Doofenshmirtz grabbed two cups of espresso, and downed them in about six seconds each. He then opened the two crates and assembled the machines for the rest of the night, into the morning.

Phineas and Ferb were about to go to bed. They were tired after their daily activity, so they were undressing and changing into their pajamas. The two brothers had successfully made every summer day worthwhile, and they could sleep at night easily knowing this fact. They pulled out their empty blueprint paper for the next day, and went to bed, looking forward to whatever good things would happen the next day. As Phineas crawled into bed, Perry went in with him, cherishing every minute of rest with his loving owner. Every day, he had to save the tri-state-area from certain destruction, but he still knew to enjoy the comfort of his back-home life instead of worry about what his nemesis might do the next day. Little did he know that tomorrow would truly be a day to worry about…

Meanwhile, across the street, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro was getting ready to drift off into sweet slumber as well. Every day was great, helping out Phineas and Ferb with their amazing daily projects. However, something was missing. She would show some small degree of her great affection for Phineas Flynn every day, yet he would never notice. In fact, the only way he would ever notice is if she flat-out told him herself, and even then, he might misunderstand her. She'd have to be precise in what she wanted. She'd love to do that, too, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to tell the love of your life that they mean that much to you. However, then and there, after much frustration, she decided what she was going to do. "Tomorrow, I will tell him. Who cares what'll happen next, I have to tell him! I have to! Tomorrow is truly make or break for this young girl's mind. And please, oh please, let it be make! Good night, Pinky, and look forward to what will be the rest of our lives." She went to bed, dreaming of all the things that may happen when she and Phineas would finally be together. Dating, long nights of talking, plenty of kisses, marriage, kids, and growing old together! Oh, joy, how great this will be! She planned out everything in her dreams until it was finally time to wake up and tell him.

And like magic, the entire group of people all had one simultaneous common thought, whether they were asleep or awake:

"Tomorrow's going to be the best day ever."


	2. Chapter 2: Starting Up the Daily Routine

Chapter 2: Starting Up the Daily Routine

Phineas jumped out of bed, elated. He turned off the alarm clock which proved to be completely useless all summer, as he always somehow beat it by one minute every day. "So, Ferb, looks like today is finally upon us. A new day, and it is a glorious one, too. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and there are no clouds in sight. Today truly looks absolutely perfect. Now, what do you say we get to work?" Ferb opened his eyes, rubbed them, and nodded his head. They had five possible inventions for the day: a pancake exploder, a frog magnet, a set of teleporter rings, a mind-reading machine, and an "anti-apocalypse machine". After a while of thinking, it was down to the rings and the magnet. Then, Phineas disregarded how awesome it would be to make a device that would attract frogs, and decided on the teleporter rings. "With these, we'll be able to press a button and trade locations with whoever is wearing the other ring!" Phineas proclaimed.

Just then, Isabella walked through the Flynns' gate, into the backyard. She greeted Phineas with her usual "Whatcha doin'?" but she was not sure if that was what she wanted to do. She just needed to find the right moment to tell him. But for now, she needed to do what she normally would do: help Phineas with his daily project. "We're making teleporter rings! We're making them in pairs, and they will be able to teleport to their corresponding ring. However, they have to be kept dry…" Phineas explained to Isabella his idea while she half-listened, anxious to tell him what she wanted to tell him. However, all she could come up with was another not-so-vague hint.

"Hey, Phineas, when you're done, can I wear the ring that goes with yours? I'd love to wear a ring that'd pair me with YOU…" Phineas, once again extremely oblivious, replied with a simple and extremely casual "Sure, Isabella. I assume you'd want yours to be pink?" Isabella stared at him with an annoyed look on her face, saying "Yes…pink…that's…peachy. That's just peachy."

Phineas finished the rings about five minutes later, and gave Isabella her pink ring while his was red. Isabella imagined what this exact scene would be like if it was him giving her an engagement ring, nearly being completely captivated by her fantasy world. That is, until Phineas snapped her back into reality. "Well, all you have to do is press this little black button on the bottom of the ring, and PRESTO! You'll have traded places with me!" And, sure enough, she could see that she was where Phineas was standing and vice-versa. As they were astounded at the success of this invention, Phineas suddenly noticed the one thing he does every day. "Wait a minute, where's Perry?"

Perry, as usual, was heading to his usual escape route to his job. His watch had signaled that there was an urgent need for him for the day, so he rushed to the grass where he pulled a red blade out. The red blade, once pulled out, revealed a small transporting tube below, with a door fit specifically for Perry. He jumped in, and it led him straight into his headquarters. Alarms were sounding off everywhere and Monogram and Carl appeared on the screen.

"Agent P, the tri-state area is in deep trouble today. Doofenshmirtz has cleared his entire building, and all that's left is him and a massive source of energy. We need you to take not only the machine out, but also Doofenshmirtz. He is starting to become a major threat, and today, the world rests on your shoulders. Please, Agent P, you've got to save us. The fate of the Agency, the tri-state area, and the entire world depends on your performance today. Before you go, take this glass ball. It will help you when you truly need it during this adventure. Goodbye, and good luck, Agent P. Monogram out." Perry sprung into action. He took his jet-car and began the flight to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated for what may be the most important fight of his life.

As Phineas and Ferb were working, Candace secretively looked out of her window with a set of binoculars and her video camera. "Teleporter rings? Time to put this plan into action!" She laughed maniacally as she grabbed her phone. She texted Stacy, who was told to be at the movie theater Linda was at with Vivian Garcia-Shapiro, with "stace: teleporter rings. get my mom, and get out. tell her that i tried to cook and now there's a fire in the kitchen." Stacy did as was told, and surely enough, Linda and Vivian both rushed to the Flynn house. However, she was stuck in traffic, so she called Candace, telling her to keep the fire under control while she hurried back by foot. Candace prayed silently that whatever could happen would not and that her mother would make it in time to see what's going on.


	3. Chapter 3: Victory, At Last!

Chapter 3: Victory, At Last!

Perry arrived at the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. building, very nervous. Still, he had a job to do. He went to go bust through the window, but it did not break; it had just bounced him back down to the ground in pain. Inside, Doofenshmirtz smiled at what he knew was going to be a clear victory. Perry finally climbed back up the building, and finally got to the door. Doofenshmirtz opened it, greeting Perry with a simple "Hello, Perry the Platypus. Pleased to see me?"

Perry walked in, and that's when he noticed the completed "Apocalypsinator" in the center of the room. It was glowing a fiery red color, and it looked like it wasn't going to be broken easily. "So, Perry the Platypus, you see my Apocalypsinator! This device is probably one of my most ingenious ones yet: it will send a shockwave through the entire tri-state area, recreating it in my image! However, it will be so strong, that it will blow up this entire building. Now, it hurts me to say this, but I can't have you getting in my way during my new world order…so, without further ado, I give you THE ULTIMATE PLATYPUS TRAP!"

As he said these final words, he pressed a red button on a remote he pulled out of his pocket. This caused a series of super-strength lasers to capture Perry, and hold him in a tight grip that he could not get out of at all. Doofenshmirtz then turned on a television screen right next to Perry.

"I have a meeting with the Danville government tonight, where I will tell them I am taking them over. You will be watching the conference on this television screen, and you will see the proclamation of my new world order. Once I am handed the key to the city, it will be used to activate this remote right here. The button on here, Perry the Platypus, will activate the Apocalypsinator, securing my position of grand ruler of the tri-state area! After that, I shall spread my influence all over this entire planet! Goodbye, Perry the Platypus, and good riddance."

Doofenshmirtz then opened his roof and was flung out of the building with a parachute on his back, and then the roof closed back up again. Doofenshmirtz drove away from his former building to City Hall, feeling accomplished and knowing that nothing could stop him now.

At the moment, Phineas was inside, getting snacks for Ferb and Isabella. Linda rushed in, armed with a heavy-duty fire extinguisher. Candace saw her and jumped for joy, knowing that there was no way anything could happen to the rings now. Linda hit Phineas with the extinguisher by mistake, and then she noticed when the room was all clear that there was never any fire to start with.

She apologized to Phineas, kissing him several times, and then questioned Candace about the whole thing. Candace pointed to Phineas's hand, and showed her the ring. "What's wrong with a simple ring, Candace?" Linda asked. Candace pulled out the ten minutes of video footage of Phineas and Ferb making the ring, and Linda watched in astonishment. However, it wasn't the reaction Candace was looking for.

"Oh my God, my sons are geniuses! Ferb, Isabella, get in here!" Candace's jaw dropped in horror and disgust, and all she could ask was "But aren't you going to bust them? They worked with dangerous tools to make these things, and they're probably not exactly the safest thing in the world, either… And besides, this means that I've ALWAYS been right about these things! Don't you _care_?"

Linda replied by asking what could exactly be so dangerous about teleporter rings, then tried Phineas's on and activated it herself. However, what she forgot was Phineas's warning to keep it dry, and Phineas was struck by the fire extinguisher while wearing it. This means the ring was drenched as well, causing it to malfunction. The special technology in the ring was warped, and now the microcircuits Phineas had used to make the ring function were open and spreading out all through Linda's entire body.

Linda screamed in pain as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through her body. She then appeared where Isabella was standing, writhing in pain. The ring served its purpose, yet it gave Linda immense amounts of pain. That's when Candace realized that her dream was finally coming true. Her brothers were finally getting what they deserved: a good busting. Linda got up hazily, covered in scorch marks. All of a sudden, Linda's mood changed from ecstatic to furious.

"Phineas, what the hell were you thinking? You should NOT be making things like this at the cost of what could have been my life! Do you really think doing this kind of thing is SMART? I have third degree burns all over my body! Go directly to your room, young man! You too, Ferb! I'm in so much pain right now, it's unbearable! I mean, really, you just sent me through the equivalent of an electric chair!" She then collapsed out on the couch, quickly falling unconscious out of the immense amount of pain she had just gone through.

Candace wore a bittersweet combination of a smile and a frown on her face, as she finally got what she wanted, but her mother was the one who truly had to suffer for it. Phineas and Ferb went up to their rooms, sad and ashamed that their fun ended up seriously injuring their mother. Isabella and Vivian both went home, worried about what might happen next to Linda, Phineas, and Ferb.


	4. Chapter 4: Crisis Mode Activated

Chapter 4: Crisis Mode Activated

Doofenshmirtz pulled up to City Hall in his truck. He was greeted by a crowd of paparazzi, for everyone knew that this was going to be an important meeting. He went inside and met with his brother, Mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz, and the rest of the city council. However, two members were missing: you guessed it, Phineas and Ferb. They gave Phineas a call to see where they were. Phineas answered, but he told them they could not come to the meeting, as they were being punished. Ferb, however, took the phone, listened for a minute or two, and grabbed Phineas's arm.

"Phineas, this is more important. We need to go to the meeting, now. They're saying the mayor's brother is speaking, and it might just change all of Danville as we know it." Phineas could not come up with a good enough argument for the matter, so he and Ferb both climbed out of the window. They ran as fast as they could out of the gates, and grabbed their scooters in the yard and rode to the council meeting.

Meanwhile, at the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building, Perry had been trying to break free of the grip of the lasers he had been captured in, to no avail. He had already planned out how to escape, but it required pulling his arm out and retrieving the glass ball Monogram gave him. Right now, it was on the floor, and Perry needed to squeeze out and throw it into the energy core of the Apocalypsinator. He had part of his arm out, but he simply could not come up with enough force to escape the lasers. On the screen in front of him, Doofenshmirtz was beginning to speak.

"Hello, citizens of the tri-state area. My name is Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and I shall be your new supreme ruler. I have a nearby building rigged with a new invention of mine that will turn the entire city of Danville into my own creation! All I need from my brother, Roger, is the key to the city. The key that handles all important operations to the city." Roger then asked, "Why would we give YOU the full control of the city when we all know that you're going to turn us all into your slaves?" Doofenshmirtz nonchalantly replied with a simple "Leverage, my dear brother. Leverage." Before Roger could ask Doofenshmirtz to elaborate, a ladder crashed through the building. Doofenshmirtz climbed onto it, and went inside the blimp above.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Danville, this is my Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated Warship. With it, I can detonate any building in this entire town! Now, you can either peacefully hand me the key, or I can blow up half the city and MAKE you give me the key! And just in case you think I'm bluffing, I'm hovering right above a cheese factory right now. Give me the key, or you'll lose all of your precious cheese!" Screams of terror could be heard all around. Roger reluctantly took out the key, and prepared to give it to his brother.

Just then, Phineas opened the doors to City Hall. He belted out "Don't give him that key, Mayor Doofenshmirtz!" as loud as he could. Phineas and Ferb had both come armed with emergency laser guns and "wormhole bazookas" that would send the target any other random place in the universe. Phineas shot the bazooka at the warship, and surely enough, it worked. Doofenshmirtz was now located near the asteroid belt. However, his warship could travel at a fast enough speed that it would only take him about an hour and a half to get back to Earth. Phineas knew this, and that this move would only buy him time. He commanded everyone to go to Doofenshmirtz's old building to disable the Apocalypsinator. Usually, they would not know which building it was, but it was clear as day this time, seeing as it was glowing red due to the machine's power. Everyone rushed over there as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, Candace, Isabella, and Perry were watching the events unfold on television. Candace, although mad that the boys escaped their punishment while their mother lay unconscious from her injuries, left her house and went to Doofenshmirtz's building, prepared to help in any way possible. Isabella decided to join Candace, as she knew that although Phineas and Ferb were smart, this was something they may also need her to help them with.

Perry, however, was feeling a plethora of emotions at once. He knew his owners would find out about his double life; this could not be prevented. However, it was clear that everyone he ever knew or loved was in danger here, and there might not be a way to stop Danville from becoming a wreck. It was clear that everyone's thoughts were racing, and no one really knew a solution to the problems they were facing.

Phineas and the rest of the Danvilian City Council arrived at Doofenshmirtz's former building to find that the door was locked. Phineas tried to pick it, but to no avail. After about five minutes of brainstorming a way to get in. Phineas and Ferb decided to quickly make a device to blast open the metal walls. Luckily for the trapped platypus inside, they blasted right where one of the three laser generators was located. The laser was now one third less strong than it was before, making it much easier for Perry to quickly get out of the laser hold he had been put in. But before he could leave, Phineas jumped in through the hole in the wall, prepared for anything in the building. Little did Perry know that before his nemesis left, he left a fresh crop of minion robots to fight him off if he escaped, or anyone else if they entered…


	5. Chapter 5: New Allies

Chapter 5: New Allies

Phineas finally got inside of the previous Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building. All of a sudden, an alarm sounded, and a door in the background opened. Out came seven security robots Doofenshmirtz had invented for good measure. Phineas didn't have much left up his sleeve at the moment, since his previous inventions spontaneously combusted after they were used due to the speed in which they were made and the high amounts of energy needed to use them.

Phineas had the entire city council behind him, but he figured that they would need to stay outside for their own safety, since they were the more important and influential members of Danville's government. Therefore, only he and Ferb were to stay and fight the droids. They were completely surrounded, but they knew they'd be able to take them out. Just as they were getting ready to fight, Isabella jumped into the scene. "I figured you guys might need some help."

Seven robots up against three children. The odds were against them. However, all of a sudden, a glass ball split into three super-powered shards, which exploded on contact on the three robots it landed on. In their wake, the three could see the silhouette of a familiar figure. "Perry? What are you doing here?" Then they all saw the fedora, and somehow knew what it meant: Perry the Platypus, their beloved pet and friend, was a secret agent.

Perry sprang into action alongside Phineas, while Ferb and Isabella took on the two robots Phineas and Perry were not focused on from the side. Perry handed Phineas a miniature firecracker launcher from his emergency weapons kit. Phineas and Perry shot the robots in perfect synchronization, side by side.

One shot to the robots sent them back about an inch, but didn't cause any serious damage. The second shot was just as ineffective: it looked like the robots just wouldn't give up. When Perry fired his third shot, it hit the core of the droid's processing unit, which caused it to shut down upon explosion. For good measure, Perry beheaded the robot with his tail.

However, Phineas's third shot was not as lucky. While the first and second shots had no effect, the third shot hit it right in the face. Upon explosion, the robot's inner workings were revealed. The robot continued to advance toward Phineas, until he was literally inches away. All of a sudden, it pulled off its hand, revealing a blade that looked as though it could chop up blocks of diamond. It kept moving towards Phineas's neck, causing Phineas to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

However, just in the nick of time, Perry kicked the menacing droid over and held it down, dodging the swipes of the blade. He pulled out the main red wire to the robot, which caused it to turn off completely. Somehow, he knew that Phineas and Ferb would easily be able to rework the machine so that it would fight on their side instead of for Doofenshmirtz.

Ferb and Isabella were having little luck battling their robot opponents, yet they were able to hold them off until Phineas and Perry were done with minimal wounds. The four all ganged up against the two robots, knocking and kicking it over several times. Still, Phineas knew this was no way to combat murderous robots like these. He chose to fight fire with fire.

Phineas ran over to the center of the room, where Perry had destroyed the last robot. He dismantled the right hand off of it fairly easily, revealing another blade. Phineas chopped the wrist off of the robot with the blade on the other robot's hand, and used it to behead the two robots that his three counterparts were handling. Phineas grabbed his brother and went to the robot Perry had managed to shut off.

The two studied it carefully, and after five minutes, figured out every single component of how the robot worked. Phineas fiddled with the wires inside the robot's cockpit for about thirty seconds, removing several black-and-purple striped wires. He then put the red wire back inside the robot, except in reverse, thus restarting the robot.

The robot's eyes flashed three times with a blue light and said "My name is DEI-521. Would you like to set another name for me?" Phineas decided to rename him "Surge", because of how he came to be and the fact that "he looks like a Surge." Phineas then commanded Ferb to take "Surge" back to the backyard, where he would be tuned up and armed accordingly to what they may need for the battle against Doofenshmirtz.

Phineas then went over to work on dismantling the Apocalypsinator. After about five minutes of looking at it, he still could not figure out the mechanics of it. Once he got inside, the only visible components were a large amount of wires and a casing of what looked like diamond encasing a large, bright white ball of pure energy. He tried to cut a wire, but the second he got two inches away from the wires with his scissors, it gave him a shock small enough to not do much damage, but enough to send him back a bit.

Every time he tried to cut a wire, this happened. Finally, he resisted the electric shock and managed to hit a wire with his scissors. Still, even though he had gotten them, the wires would not cut. Phineas was at a loss for words; this machine was impenetrable. Not even Perry's special tools could bust open or cut through the wiring. This was truly an unstoppable machine.

All of a sudden, Isabella, who had spent the last twenty minutes thinking, came up next to Phineas and tapped him on the back. "Phineas, I need to talk to you. It's something I've chosen to keep from you for a while now, and it needs to be put out in the open. React to it how you may, but this is something that has been tearing me up inside and it needs to get out."


	6. Chapter 6: The Obligatory Moment

Chapter 6: The Obligatory Moment

Heinz was piloting his massive warship, when suddenly, a young woman arose from his massive pile of boxes in the back. It was his daughter, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. She had been given a small dosage of sleeping medication to keep her asleep for the whole time Heinz's scheme was going on, but she was awake now. She looked out the windows of the warship and saw that they were in space, with Earth only a tiny moon-sized circle from their perspective.

"Dad, what's going on? Why are we in space?" Vanessa screamed at her father. Heinz explained to her the entire scenario, which purely infuriated her. "Dad, this is the most evil thing you've ever thought of! You're completely insane for even contemplating of blowing up an entire area with this thing just so you can rule a small section of a country!" She grabbed a hoverboard, an oxygen tank, an oxygen mask, a box with a large red "FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY" stamped on it, and clothing specially made to sustain the horrid conditions of outer space. She jumped out of the warship, headed directly for Earth. "Don't worry Danville, you have me on your side now."

Candace Flynn. For the longest time, she had been against everything her brothers and their crazy group of friends was doing during the summer. So many impossibly dangerous and humongous inventions that disappeared every day, making her look like a psycho. Before today, all she ever wanted was her mother to believe her. Today, approaching the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. building's entrance, all she cared about was the safety of her brothers. Phineas and Ferb needed as much help as they could get today, and she was definitely ready to act. Just then, she saw Ferb run away from the building with a tall robot.

"Where are you going, Ferb? Aren't you going to stay and help Phineas out?" Ferb replied with a short "I'm going home to help." He didn't sound annoyed in any way, shape, or form, but he did seem like he was in a hurry to get things done. Candace proceeded up the building, passing through the crowd that was waiting outside. She got to the gaping hole in the metal wall, and there, she saw Phineas and Isabella, gathered next to the Apocalypsinator. She sighed in relief as she tried to listen in on what the two were talking about.

Phineas was unsure how to react to Isabella's sudden comment, but he told her to go on with what she was going to say.

"Phineas, I've known you for about eight years, since we were three. Over those eight years, I have come to know you as the sweet, optimistic, caring person you are. You have done the most amazing things every day, and several of them have been for the betterment of my life. You've always been there for me. Years ago, I fell hopelessly in love with you. And I am still hopelessly in love. You're the perfect boy, Phineas Flynn. You're energetic, smart, and carefree. Your only problem is that you're so dense and naïve that you haven't been able to see with my clear hints that I've had these feelings for you. Ask anyone, they all know. And I've decided that it's time for you to know. I love you, Phineas Flynn. Do you love me back?"

Phineas sat there, completely shocked with a blank stare on his face. It took him about a minute for all the previous information to sink into his mind. Eventually, he could form a coherent thought of his own. "Isabella…you really feel that way about me? And all this time, I've been completely blind to your several displays of affection toward me?" Isabella sighed slightly. She wasn't quite sure how to feel at that very moment, but she spoke up. "Yes, Phineas. For at least half of my life, pretty much my whole life has revolved around you. I've tried to show you every day for the past five years, but you somehow never have seen through any of my attempts…It's my fault. I should've told you from the very beginning."

"No, Isabella, it's my fault. I'm so sorry that my constant blindness has prevented you from revealing something that must have been tearing you up inside for so many years. However, I have a confession to make too." Isabella opened her eyes as wide as she could, as she was almost certain this was about to become either the fantasy she was waiting for the past five years to come true, or the worst thing to ever happen to her.

"Isabella. I've known you for as long as I can remember. You've helped me in doing perhaps everything I have done over the course of my life. Every time I can remember doing something, I see you, right there by my side. And this is why I've come to become just as attached to you as I have Ferb over the years. The two of us are a pair that can not be separated by any means. And this is why it would be so easy to tell you I have the same feelings for you as you do for me. However, the truth is, I have yet to even know what love is. I'm a young boy, Isabella. As you've said, I'm naïve and dense. It's just because my mind isn't used to the concepts of love and romance. It's used to the mindset of having the best day ever, and having it every day. I'd love to say I love you back. I really would. But the truth is, I'm not sure if-"

Just at that moment, Phineas was silenced by the pressing of Isabella's lips against his. Chills went up and down his spine, and he could feel his heart almost stop. Likewise, Isabella had almost completely frozen in that moment. She held Phineas in the softest embrace she could. She had the entire moment planned out, but still, she did not know one thing on what to do next. Her body was completely frozen, as was her mind. Time had completely stopped for both of them. However, the two eventually broke apart and both took a few deep breaths.

"Isabella, my heart is racing. That was possibly the strangest feeling my body has ever felt. Everything seemed to completely stop during that, it was so…amazing! Wonderful! It was a feeling of pure ecstasy, I tell you! …Is this…is this love?"

"Yes, Phineas, that was love." Unbeknownst to them, Candace had been watching and listening to the entire moment for the past five minutes through the door to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. "But what's more important now is that everyone's okay. However, we won't be if we stick around here and let Looney up there in his gigantic blimp blow up this whole building, or worse, the entire tri-state area!" Phineas was unsure at first, but then he remembered that there was no way, at least for now, for him to destroy the Apocalypsinator. Therefore, he, Isabella, and Candace ran outside the Doofenshmirtz building. All of a sudden, right in front of them, a tall brunette with a purely black-as-night outfit on appeared before their eyes, riding a hoverboard. She cocked what looked like a large laser gun, and wore a sharp grin on her face.

"You guys need any help?"


	7. Chapter 7: It All Makes Sense Now

Chapter 7: It All Makes Sense Now

"Who are you, exactly?" Phineas looked at the tall teenage goth girl and wasn't sure how to react. He wasn't even sure whether to trust her or not; this girl did look pretty shady. Not to mention, everything she had been using was stamped with "Property of Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc." She softly but confidently stood before Phineas, Isabella, and Candace and got ready for whatever they might think once she revealed her identity.

"My name is Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. Yes, I'm the daughter of that man that's causing all this to happen. I've usually just been slightly annoyed by his 'evil' actions, but this is just something that needs to be stopped. I get that you don't trust me due to who I am, but if there's any way, any way at all that I can get you to see past my name, I can—Wait a second…" She noticed Perry, on all fours, standing behind Phineas. "Hey, what's the name of this platypus? Is it perhaps Perry?" Phineas stared at her in shock. "How do you know our pet platypus?" Vanessa could see that Phineas didn't quite know all the details yet.

"Well, I'm sure you know he's a secret agent, as you had found him in the building where my father said he had trapped him." Phineas nodded in agreement. "Anyways, your platypus and my dad are nemeses. Every day, my father has built some crazy invention to get rid of whatever or to turn whatever into whatever else. And every day, your pet platypus defeats my father and prevents him from taking over the tri-state area. He's not the greatest of evil geniuses, but if your platypus wasn't there to defeat him, he'd have taken over this city ages ago. He has spent all his time working on hundreds of evil inventions for a purpose that has never quite been served, yet today, his plans can not be stopped unless we pull off a resistance effort perfectly."

Phineas blinked a few times and his mind raced. So this was where Perry had been every day. It all makes perfect sense now. Suddenly, Candace had a sudden realization as well.

"Hey, Vanessa, you said your dad invents things. And what he invents causes things to…change. Either change them or cause them to completely disappear. By any chance, does your father ever fire his machines out a window or anything?" Vanessa nodded and simply asked, "What of it?" Candace, then and there, figured everything out.

"Vanessa, your father's inventions have been responsible for the disappearance for the numerous things my two brothers have made this whole summer. And because of that, my mother thought I was a deranged loony, all up until today." At this point, tears were starting to come down Candace's eyes, and her voice started to get all panicky and spastic like it usually does when she's stressed. "Every day, my mother would drive home to see me screaming at nothing, or trying to expose absolutely nothing. Every day, she would put up with my 'delusions' and constantly consider making a fund to put me in some kind of asylum! Every day, these two would get away with making the biggest and craziest contraptions ever, and I'm the one to pay for it! That is, until today came along. Today, I came up with a crazy lie and scheme to get my mother to come right home. Yes, she saw what was going on. But then, because of my lie, my poor mother was almost killed! Just because of my own actions…"

All of a sudden, she got on one knee and turned her head right to Phineas. "Phineas, I'm truly sorry for trying to get you in trouble for the past summer. Today, I went too far. Now, I want to help you. With both saving the world and having a fun summer. I realize that I should be a proper sister to you instead of being a selfish person of higher authority. I'm your sister, and I love you. We're gonna get through this together, okay? Still, now I have some pure motivation against this guy. He's already made this personal with me. No one makes Candace Flynn look like a psycho!"

Although she went through several emotions in her speech, Candace's last few sentences had contained an emotion she had never truly felt before until now, even with her getting what she thought she wanted mere hours ago: triumph. Her sudden revelation and the clearing of her mind gave her the clearest thoughts she had ever felt. With this newfound enlightenment, she wore a grin on her face. "Phineas, Isabella, Perry, and Vanessa: we're going home. We have little time before Heinz comes back to Earth, so we need to formulate a plan before he has a chance to come back and blow anything up." Everyone tried to fit on Vanessa's hoverboard, and through many jumbles between the different people in the group, they were finally able to find a way to all get on without falling off. Still, the speed of the hoverboard heavily decreased due to it being weighed down, so it took the party a total of ten minutes to get back.

Once back, the gang rushed to the backyard to see that Ferb was working on giving Surge a complete remodel. Before everyone could get a good look, however, just as luck would have it, Linda woozily woke up from her pain-induced sleep. She was still sore, but she got up to see that everyone was still outside. "Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, get in here this instant!" Phineas and Ferb came inside, their faces still saddened by the fact that they hurt their mother so badly. However, Candace came up to her mother.

"Mom, I'm incredibly sorry for what happened to you. And if this were even one day earlier, I would have made sure you 'busted' Phineas and Ferb for what they did as harshly as possible. But what happened was not their fault. It was entirely mine. My lie caused you to spray Phineas with the extinguisher. My lie caused the ring to malfunction. My lie almost killed you. I'll take any punishment you want to give me, but let me warn you of something. While you were asleep, a crisis broke out in the city of Danville. A madman named Heinz Doofenshmirtz revealed that he was going to transform the entire city of Danville into a wasteland and reshape it into the start of his own empire. Then, to back himself up, he brought out a massive warship. Luckily, Phineas and Ferb showed up and subdued him, but it'll only work for about another half hour or so. What we need to do now is figure out a game plan for how to combat him. It's that or we will lose the entire city and all the freedom we ever had is going to be stripped away from us. And even if you don't think Phineas and Ferb can combat this guy, they can. Everything I've told you this entire summer has been true. The boys can make every possible contraption known to man, and some known only to dolphin. I'm telling you, if you don't allow Phineas and Ferb to work their magic right now of all times, then we're all doomed!"

Linda, seeing that Candace had somehow become completely normal and mature over the last few hours in which she slept, agreed fully to allowing Phineas and Ferb to fix whatever may happen to Danville. Plus, due to a few moments in her somewhat-unknown past, she felt somewhat responsible for Heinz's drastic attempt at conquest of the tri-state area of Danville.

Meanwhile, after the entire gang arrived at the Flynn-Fletcher house, Heinz laughed maniacally as his warship's GPS Naviginator had shown that he had only half an hour before he got back into Earth's atmosphere. The only reason for him to be slightly disappointed was because he could've gotten to Earth faster if not for the fact that his navigator had malfunctioned on him. Due to the fact that he had landed right in front of the asteroid belt, the system's automatic navigational system was sent in all sorts of crazy directions until about half an hour later when the Naviginator finally acquired access to a satellite Doofenshmirtz had earlier launched in space. Then, the warship was able to set its course directly for Earth. Still, Heinz still had enough power on him to do whatever he needed to. Because of the massive artillery he had and Danville's limited resistance, the tri-state area was as good as his.

At least, that's what he thought.


	8. Chapter 8: The Game Plan

Chapter 8: The Game Plan

The entire gang stood in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. They didn't have much time left, so they needed to act fast. Ferb was working on remodeling Surge, and he had gotten pretty far. By now, Surge was just as short as Phineas and his gang and was given human features. He had short black hair, green eyes, and a slightly tan-colored exterior to simulate skin. He wore jeans and a long, black T-shirt that split into two segments and went down to his knees. His shoes were white. His hands had holes on them, which enabled him to fire ammunition from his hands. Also, his arms were clearly detachable again, but there was a dial on his arm that had about two hundred different selections to choose from.

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Surge, our new android friend." Ferb said this to the crowd that had gathered in front of him. He closed up Surge's facial exterior and turned him on. Surge's eyes shined a blue light three times, and then he got off of his mount. "Hey, I'm Surge. No need to introduce yourselves, I know everything there is to know about all of you." The whole group dropped their jaws in amazement at how fluid and human Ferb had made the remodeled android seem. They couldn't even tell the difference between him and an actual human, except for the bolts on his temples, which were designed to keep his circuits intact.

"Ferb, this is amazing! How did you get this much done in half an hour?" Ferb had opened his mouth, ready to explain his technique, until he had seen exactly who had just spoken to him. It was Vanessa, the very girl he had fallen in what was practically love at first sight when they first met months ago. When he saw her, he fumbled with his words, and nearly fainted. However, he was to somewhat pull himself together and simply say, "That's not important at the moment. I suggest we figure out some kind of plan." Phineas wholeheartedly agreed. He brought out a round table around which everyone sat. He then took a marker and some large paper and began to state his plan.

"I believe, if we are to stop Heinz, we should probably first use Surge to shoot at the warship so that we can either crash the warship or at least subdue Heinz while we get up inside it. Then, we go in and hijack the warship. Perry will take care of Heinz, Isabella and I will try to gain control of the ship's navigator, and Ferb, Vanessa, and Surge will go to the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building, where they will work on dismantling and destroying the Apocalypsinator. We'll land the warship on top of the building, where we'll take Heinz and chain him to the warship. We'll take all his gadgets and destroy them all so that no one can be harmed by this madman again. We'll then have the authorities take him away to the Danville Asylum. For emergency communication, we'll use this pair of walkie-talkies to contact each other in case something goes wrong." That okay with everyone?"

The rest of the group took about thirty seconds to visualize the entire plan in their minds, and then they all agreed that Phineas's plan was good enough to work. Phineas decided everyone should get to the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. building before Heinz did to ensure that they'd be able to pull everything off. Surge, all of a sudden, levitated off of the ground, and shot a net out of his hand, saying "Hop in, everyone." Once everyone was in, Surge zoomed through Danville's streets, carrying the several passengers with no struggle whatsoever. It only took about twenty-five seconds to get to the front of the building. As soon as they all got out of the net they were in, they saw a brown dot in the sky that nearly blocked out the sun. They all knew right away that it was Heinz. Phineas stepped toward the rest of the group and closed his eyes, and assumed a degree of seriousness that he had never quite had before in his entire life.

"Team, this might be the most difficult thing we've ever done. We might not all even make it out of this situation alive. So, before anything happens, I must say that it was a real pleasure to have met you all, and I want you all to try your best. Not for me, not for yourselves, but for all of Danville and the entire tri-state area. It's do or die, guys. It's do or die."

The rest of the gang assumed position and got ready for the worst.


	9. Chapter 9: Inator Wars

Chapter 9: Inator Wars: The Fight for Danville

Heinz had entered Earth's atmosphere and was about to approach Danville. The entire city watched in horror as their certain doom stared them right in the face. Riots were breaking out. The city was in absolute chaos. Everyone was making an effort to evacuate the entire city of Danville. Heinz watched from above and wore an evil grin on his face. He then pushed a button which released a giant cannonball from the bottom of the warship. It crashed into the local Danville pub, starting a mass fire in the building. Everyone managed to evacuate it without severe injury, but now everyone knew how serious Heinz actually was. Before today, he was just a guy with a crazy aspiration. Now, Heinz managed to completely break down into a malicious, power-hungry madman that would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Phineas, Perry, and Isabella rode on the hoverboard to the warship, while Surge flew toward it himself. Surge shot everything he had in his arsenal to break the colossal death-machine open: rockets, grenades, bullets, and even miniature-sized bombs. When the three got close enough, Surge's arm detached, revealing an even sharper and longer blade than before. He got up to the ship's hull and sliced away at it until there was enough room for Phineas, Perry, and Isabella to enter. Phineas stepped inside and commanded Surge to go down to the building to help Ferb out. Surge did as he was told, and he met Ferb and Vanessa at the site of the Apocalypsinator.

Once Phineas, Perry, and Isabella were inside, they tried to sneak up on Heinz. However, before they could incapacitate him, he noticed them creeping behind him and got off his chair. "So, Perry the Platypus, you escaped from your trap. And, you also have reinforcements. Too bad all of you are completely helpless!" He stomped his foot on the ground when he said the word "completely", which activated a cage trap from the top of the ship, which was about to drop on the trio. Perry, with his trained reaction time skills from the O.W.C.A., managed to sidestep the cage. However, Phineas and Isabella were not able to escape. They were trapped in the cage.

"So, Perry, it's now mano a mano…or should I say, 'mano a platypus-o.' Let this be the final showdown for all of Danville!" Heinz pulled out a blue raygun. He shot it at Perry, but he jumped out of the way. Suddenly, the very spot the ray hit was covered in a red slime. "This is my StandStill-inator. It completely freezes the motion of anything it hits with my special quick-hardening red goo!" He aimed it at Perry's feet several times, but Perry was able to maneuver around every shot. Finally, Heinz just held the trigger down and aimed it all around the bottom of the warship. He managed to hit Perry in the right hind foot, which immobilized that foot. However, due to Heinz's unloading of the raygun, it was then out of power and would no longer work.

Perry then grabbed an orange raygun from one of Heinz's crates of inventions. He then didn't hesitate at all to shoot it at Heinz, no matter what it did. He shot Heinz in the arm, and five seconds later, his arm grew about twice the normal size. "Oh great, the Enlarge-Inator…That's not gonna go down anytime soon." Perry kept shooting at Heinz's nose, which grew to become as long as the rest of his body. Due to his weighed-down nose, it was quite difficult to maneuver. However, he eventually got ahold of Perry and threw the Enlarge-Inator out of the warship.

Perry and Heinz both grabbed items out of random crates in the back of the warship. Eventually, Perry found a small item that looked like a flashlight, which read "SWEAT-INATOR", while Heinz obtained what looked like a pair of sunglasses, which were actually his "Deflect-Inator". Perry shined the Sweat-Inator at Heinz, but the rays were deflected right back at Perry. Suddenly, a large amount of milk spilled onto the floor. Perry suddenly felt very tired due to the immense amount of liquid he had just lost. However, as Phineas and Isabella screamed and cheered on Perry to get up, he finally found strength from within to get up. Limping toward Heinz, he swung his tail at Heinz's face with all his might. This sent Heinz flying back to the floor. By now, the swelling in his nose was slightly going down, but his arm was still huge. So, he decided to make use of it and swung his mammoth arm at Perry a few times. The last swing hit Perry, sending him to the wall.

Perry and Heinz were by now extremely disoriented. They had both suffered strange but harsh complications due to the different Inators they had used to fight with. Eventually, both of them were on the ground, panting. Perry was able to get up first, however, and he dug through the several inventions and shot them at the metal cage that encased Phineas and Isabella. He tried four different inventions, all of which had no effect. Finally, he picked up a fifth. Before he could use it, however, Heinz picked him up and threw him to the wall. This highly disoriented Perry once again, and it left him helpless. However, after a few seconds, he was able to gain full consciousness and shoot the cage once again. Luckily, the invention was just what he needed: the "Rust-Inator". The metal corroded and was filled with rust, in a matter of seconds, which severely weakened the metal. Phineas was able to break it open enough that he and Isabella could escape. The three tackled Heinz all at once so he was pinned to the ground, once again in near-consciousness.

Meanwhile, Ferb, Vanessa, and Surge tried to figure out how to get rid of the Apocalypsinator. Ferb tried analyzing the parts and trying to dismantle them, piece by piece. However, he couldn't separate anything, and when he tried, he would get a large amount of electrostatic shock. Vanessa looked all over for one of her dad's infamous flaws in his inventions, such as a self-destruct button of some sort. However, there was no such thing. She then shot the machinery with the laser gun she stole from her dad's warship. The gun emitted a high-energy blast which would probably rip through anything, but alas, the machine practically absorbed the energy. She tried to shoot it with the last few shots she had, but the same effect happened every time.

Phineas and Perry tied Heinz to his chair in a way that he could not move. Heinz struggled for a few moments and then gave up, realizing he was stuck. "Can't a guy just take over the tri-state area in peace?" Perry slapped Heinz in the face for that comment, and they went along and tried to figure out the mechanics of the piloting system. Perry then saw that Heinz's Naviginator was able to be modified by means of a password. Heinz grinned, saying "Ha! You'll never guess my super-secret security pass-" "PASSWORD ACCEPTED: DOOFALICIOUS" Heinz shut his eyes and screamed "I should really change that freaking password!"

In Heinz's old building, Ferb and Vanessa stood back as Surge nearly unloaded his entire arsenal at the machine. After all the smoke cleared, the Apocalypsinator shockingly showed no sign of damage. In fact, it looked even more unstable and dangerous due to absorbing the high amounts of energy that had been delivered to it. The trio was befuddled and had no idea what to do. Ferb took out his walkie-talkie and said "The machine can't be broken. We're completely helpless."

Phineas and Isabella managed to figure out the navigational controls to pilot the warship themselves without too much trouble, while Perry made sure Heinz couldn't get out of the bind he was in. After about fifteen minutes of getting the warship at a good angle, Phineas was finally able to land the warship. Due to the size of the warship, however, the landing caused a large shaking of the building and the ship itself. Due to the vibrations, Phineas fell down and the ropes surrounding Heinz were loosened. All of a sudden, Heinz could see that a key fell out of Phineas's pocket.

It was the key to the city, which Phineas had almost completely forgotten about after he had put it in his pocket. Heinz picked it up and maniacally laughed. Phineas and Isabella shared a collective "Oh no…" and stared in horror as Heinz inserted the key into his remote. Phineas pulled out his walkie-talkie and screamed as loud as he can, "Ferb! Vanessa! Surge! We need to get out of here, he's got the key! I repeat, he's got the key!" All of a sudden, Heinz pressed the button on his remote, kicked Phineas and Isabella off the warship, and flew away.

On Ferb's team's side, the Apocalypsinator started to pulsate, and the energy core was growing bigger, about to break out of its nearly-impenetrable casing. Surge created a forcefield and encased it around himself, Ferb, and Vanessa. Surge then flew through the metal ceiling of the near-exploding building. Just before the building managed to explode and release a supersonic blast, he was able to retrieve Phineas, Isabella, and Perry and fly everyone up above the range of the blast. The team was saved, but the city of Danville was lost to Heinz Doofenshmirtz.


	10. Chapter 10: The Worst of Times

Chapter 10: The Worst of Times

The sky was a dark gray, even though it was daytime. Storm clouds and fog were spread throughout the entire area. The streets were empty and lifeless. To many, this once tranquil city was a carefree, lively place bustling with activity. At first glance, one might indeed identify the city that was once Danville to be a ghost town with no life whatsoever. The entire area was bleakly gray with no color to be found. There was a terrifying never-ending silence in most parts of the town that could drive any normal person to insanity in seconds. However, life did exist in this dreadful city, even if it wasn't the type of life one would generally expect.

The old site of Danville City Hall was the most active part of the city at this time of day. There were two jobs to be done. One was a large two thousand-man effort to construct a machine, with an unknown purpose and function, right in the center of the building. Meanwhile, the population that did not work on the machine was to construct small wooden statues of a brown-haired, triangle-headed old man with an evil grin on his face, adding in a small purple pellet in the back of each figurine for an again unknown reason. Why did they do these odd and probably mischievous tasks? They wanted to do them. At least, that's what they were made to want to do.

Every single member of the old population of Danville was a shell of their former self. They were completely zombified. Their skin was a pale, unhealthy white. Their eyes had lost their color, and now where all a bleak grayish-white color. Their lips were cold and blue. Looking at them, one could easily assume they had been dead for months, complete with slightly rotten flesh and the craving to eat any non-zombies in sight. Their hair had become a choppy, shaken mess, but the color was still retained. Their clothes were ragged and were never changed after use. Constantly working, their bodies were deteriorating to a point where they would look even less alive every day.

Watching over the zombie population via surveillance screens in his own bastion on a remote island was a brown-haired man. He looked exactly like the statues his zombie population was building for him. He wore a black-and-red coat to signify his power, and he had grown his hair out down to his upper back. He maniacally laughed as he munched on a bratwurst and watched his slaves toil for nineteen hours a day. By now, they had made nearly fifteen thousand small statues of the cruel dictator, and had nearly completed twenty percent of his machine. Perhaps the greatest pleasure of all, however, was that absolutely nothing could stop him from doing the things he had planned…not even that damned menace of a nemesis.

As the mind-slaves kept working, they suddenly heard a few pounces. Seconds later, the doors to the building slammed open. A human stepped inside. He had jet black hair, while his eyes and skin had the color that so many of the humans in the building he was in had lost. He wore an ensemble that would make most consider him to be a very dark and shady individual. He stared at the barely-alive mass of zombies for a few seconds and blinked a few times. He lifted his palm and pointed it forward, so it would face the zombies, the statues, and the colossal machine. All of a sudden, several bullets and missiles came shooting out of his hands, spraying across the entire room. Seconds later, large explosions could be seen, and there was a burning mass of wooden crates spanning across the building. The fire hazard sprinklers at the top of the building went off, putting out the flaming mess. Several zombies were on the floor, bleeding. However, a select few quickly got right back up and grabbed hold of the rebellious human.

The zombie army was quite eager to tear apart the boy as fast as they could. However, just as they got their mouths close enough to the boy that they could devour him alive, five children and a small, cerulean, fedora-sporting animal jumped through the entrance of the building. The troop was led by a tall, curvy brunette and a young preteen boy with long, red hair and war paint all over their faces. All of them wore completely black clothing and were armed with several weapons, including daggers, boomerangs, missile launchers, and guns.

"Charge!" simultaneously came from the mouths of the five children as the entire troop and their small, mammalian member charged forward, wielding their daggers as they plowed through the army. Eventually, they reached the several zombies that had captured their comrade.

A small girl, sporting a black bow on the top of her long, ravenous black hair, stepped up to the zombies. She pulled out a chainsaw and started it up. She sighed and nearly cried to herself as she sawed off individually the arms of the zombified bodies she had quickly recognized as and had once been able to call her closest female friends. The memories of old, adventurous, and fantastic everyday experiences with this select group of people haunted her as she brutally dismembered them. However, none of that mattered to her anymore.

To them, she was just another hunk of meat. To her, they meant nothing more. Still, after looking at them and their helpless, armless, bloody bodies walking toward her, she couldn't help but fall to the floor and sob. The very girls she spent every summer with talking to and doing tremendous things with every day were now completely ready and willing to gnaw her face off. However, as they got close to her, the other four children came out and riddled the mangled bodies of the once tranquil Fireside Girls with bullets throughout their entire bodies.

The redheaded boy helped up the black-haired girl. He embraced her for a few seconds. However, he then pulled her arm and ran with her to the center of the building in which a large, incomplete structure was being made. While the small mammal and the tall brunette fended off the approaching zombie crowd, the other five in the party unloaded what could be seen as their entire arsenal on the machine: they tried to slice, explode, and shoot the machine until it was completely destroyed. However, they couldn't even phase through the gargantuan hunk of metal. Eventually, all of their weapons were empty.

As a last resort, the brunette and a small green-haired boy went and checked out the machine for any design flaws it might have had. The brunette had an eye for flaws, but she couldn't find any. Even with the green-haired boy's high levels of technological prowess, he couldn't figure out any way to either dismantle or destroy the machine internally. Eventually, they just decided to give up, as there was nothing they could do.

The team had no choice but to escape from the building as fast as they could, as they were defenseless and the zombies were coming closer and closer to them. Still, the only members with a weapon left on them were a tall, redheaded teenage girl and the tall brunette. The two unsheathed their dual katana blades from the holsters attached to her pants, and then the redhead charged forward. The brunette stayed behind the redhead to watch her back and subdue any zombies that may have tried to attack her from behind. Several zombies were being impaled by the sharp blades of the swords, and several moans of agony could be heard coming from their undead mouths. They all began coughing up chunks of blood as the redhead's swords were being driven into the wall, bringing the zombies with them. The tall swordswomen removed the blades from the multiple bodies. They ran out the door as fast as they could, while the rest of the team followed suit behind them.

* * *

After about four miles of running, they finally got back to their refugee camp located in downtown Danville in an old vacant lot. They started a fire and gathered logs around the fire pit. Panting, the entire group sat down, except the brunette.

"So, the stronghold isn't impossible to breach, but it's still pretty difficult. Luckily, we were able to get in and out with limited trouble. I'm sure as long as no one gets bitten by the horde of zombies, we can get in there and fend for ourselves while we try to dismantle the machine. We'll try again in a few days when they might've advanced on the machine and when we've restocked our ammunition. Still, today was a valiant effort, and we set some excellent ground." Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, daughter of the mad scientist that now controlled Danville, had substantial knowledge of how her father's inventions worked and was confident that she could destroy it easily once it was near completion. However, going back would be a close call every time they tried.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phineas saw Isabella, who was weeping to herself on top of the log she was sitting on. Phineas walked over and sat next to her, and tried to comfort her. Thoughts of the mangled corpses of her dear friends haunted her mind. Yes, they were zombies, but to her, they were still the valiant Fireside Girls she had come to know and love deep inside. Phineas held Isabella in a warm embrace and then looked her in the eye.

"Isabella, I know you cared about them. However, we can't worry about these kinds of things for the time being. We need to focus on surviving and stopping Heinz from doing whatever he's trying to do. Once we stop him, we'll find a way to set everything right again. For the time being, just relax and go to sleep. You're going to need to relax if you ever plan on staying sane in these harsh times." Phineas gave Isabella a reassuring kiss, patted her on the back, and led her to her tent.

* * *

Just as Phineas put Isabella to sleep, Vanessa grabbed Phineas's arm, and took him over to the fire. There, Ferb, Candace, and Perry were waiting. Phineas sat down, looking confused.

"What's the problem, Vanessa?"

"I've called you four here because I know what my father's doing. The Apocalypsinator was just the first step in his plan for total world domination. He knew that once he got the tri-state area down, he could take the whole planet with ease. My dad had once told me plans of what he would do after his total takeover of the tri-state area. Everyone would be forced make a machine that, upon completion, will give him full power over everything that will force his influence onto the entire planet. World leaders will have their entire minds wiped out and replaced with my father's. The world's monuments will become more fit to his liking. And he can get rid of anything...or anyone…he wants. With this one machine, my father will become the dictator of Earth."

Phineas, Ferb, Candace and Perry looked shocked and appalled at what these events might entail.

"However, I've been coming up with a last resort plan. I'm not quite sure how it's all going to play out, so I'm going to run it by you guys later on. Now, get to sleep; we have to make sure we have energy tomorrow. We're restocking our supplies."

Phineas, Ferb, and Perry went into their tent, while Candace and Vanessa each went into their other, separate tents. Everyone got to sleep in a matter of minutes, except Phineas. He laid down on his back, eyes wide open. He had bags under his eyes, as if he had not slept in days.

* * *

_We had just gotten off of Surge and back into Danville after the explosion. The Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building was blown to smithereens, and it was letting off large amounts of black smoke into the air. Within three minutes, the whole city was covered in smog, and the skies were gray. Then, we saw the people. They looked like they had died and left to rot. They were the most frightening thing I had ever seen. However, we kept on walking through the now dreary town._

_Eventually, we got to Maple Drive, where we had all resided. That's when we spotted our houses. Like out of a Halloween movie, our parents came out, moaning unintelligibly. We all quivered in fear at the sight of such beloved people being thrown into such a dreadful fate. Just then, it seemed like everyone all over town was coming out and approaching us. Family, friends, bullies…even Irving. And not one of them was a pretty sight to see. We ran as fast as we could. That day was the first day of hell in a city I can no longer call Danville._

_We eventually ran to the outskirts of the city. It was the only location in the entire area not overrun by zombies. I broke down, crying. This was the first time I had felt any other emotion than optimistic happiness. My entire world was breaking apart before my very eyes. I started to feel sick at the very sight of everything Danville had just become. Just then, I felt a certain lightweightedness, and then nothing. Absolutely nothing._


	11. Chapter 11: Forever Lost

Chapter 11: Forever Lost

"Phineas! Wake up, we need to get going!" Isabella shook Phineas until he snapped out of his trance. She pulled him out of the tent. Without any notification whatsoever, everyone suddenly ran as fast as they could away from the site. Phineas and Isabella were behind everyone else, as Isabella needed to get Phineas up.

"Why are we running, Isabella?" Phineas was as tired as could be, as he had gotten no sleep all night. He had no energy whatsoever, but he continued running.

Then, Phineas looked behind him. Hundreds of zombies had found their hideout and were feeling a craving for human flesh. Phineas saw the terrifying horde of the undead and ran with Isabella as fast as he could. Eventually, they lost the zombies…or so they thought.

Once the squad got near the parking lot of the Danville Mall, they found themselves surrounded by about forty zombies. Surge took out his arm cannon and tried to shoot the zombies, but to no avail. He, apparently, had run out of ammo during the ambush that occurred the previous day. No one had any idea what to do.

Suddenly, Isabella jumped up into the air and kicked five zombies to the ground. "Guys, get away from here! I'm a skilled martial artist. I can hold them off; just get more food and ammo!"

The group did as she told, as they were confident that she could at least subdue the zombies and get away. However, Phineas was reluctant to go, and he kept his eye on Isabella as he ran away.

"Go! I'll be fine! I promise!" Isabella commanded Phineas to run along with the rest of the group before the zombies were surrounding him again. He did as he was told, running into the mall as fast as he could. Just as he was about to enter the building, he heard a loud, painful shriek. He knew it was Isabella. Was she hurt? Did she get bitten? He had to find out. He ran as fast as he could away from the mall.

"Phineas, get in here!" Candace yelled, knowing that Phineas'd be doomed if he stayed out for too long. She grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. Phineas, tears in his eyes, heard the painful screams ringing in his head over and over again. The very girl he had only recently realized he had fallen in love with had been either eaten alive or zombified by that pack of savages.

The mall was completely empty. Looking at it this way gave Phineas a strange feeling in his stomach every time he had come here to restock. However, everyone needed to get supplies. Candace was in charge of food. Vanessa was in charge of replacing ammunition for the team's weaponry. Ferb and Surge were in charge of refilling Surge's energy tank with tubes of Pizzazzium Infinionite, the most compact source of enough abundant energy to power Surge's circuits. Perry was off restocking his compact weapons kit at the secret miniature weaponry section of the mall, which was hidden in a deep, dark corner built by the O.W.C.A. specifically for agents to obtain weaponry for their daily missions. Phineas and Isabella were in charge of searching the perimeter so that no swarms of zombies could infiltrate the mall and attack the group.

Phineas stood near a wall, and closed his eyes. He lamented the fact that Isabella had surely become a zombie by now, and tears flowed down his eyes. He had just lost another friend. And this time, it was perhaps the greatest friend of them all.

* * *

_Apparently, I had fainted soon after I got back into Danville. Just the sight of all of the people I had once knew in that condition…it was just sickening. However, we needed to look more throughout the town to see just what had happened._

_The entire city was devoid of any regular life besides our team. We had seen acquaintances and family everywhere. I had to keep myself from vomiting as hard as I could, as their flesh was already rotting and the smell was rancid. Luckily, after about four hours of searching, we found a place where we could take refuge, at least for a little while._

_We spent the night in Danville Middle School. It was sort of discomforting being in school in the middle of summer, but it was better than what the outside world could offer. Candace had busted open the doors to the auditorium with an emergency crowbar she found nearby and we all slept in the seats. It took about three hours for all of us to sleep. _

_While conversing about the events that had just taken place, Isabella and I discussed our kiss in the D. E. Inc. building. We talked about how much we meant to each other and we told each other how we felt (which also gave me insight into just how much of an airhead I had been for the last few years, seeing as I had not noticed a single hint of affection). However, we also decided that we wouldn't stress over a relationship while the city was undergoing a zombie apocalypse. So, we put things on hold and finally tried to escape into the bliss of sleep._

_The next morning, we woke up. It was still dark as night inside the school, as the sky had not cleared up yet. We scouted the area for any zombies and eventually determined that the coast was clear. However, we noticed something peculiar after walking through the building._

_In the Math room, we saw two boys. One was actually quite fair-skinned, but obviously a zombie. The other was paler than any other zombie we had seen before, and that's surprising, seeing as the other zombies were pretty damn pale. However, looking at them closely, I could make out clearly just who they were. Baljeet had somehow retained his daily habit of coming to school during summertime for some extra learning, even though he was clearly zombified and had no idea what he was even doing. Next to him, we could see Buford, obviously here for some sort of summer school class or something._

_After about fifteen seconds, they noticed us walking in the halls. All of a sudden, they jumped through the classroom window and they started to chase us like rabid, hungry wolves. They were coming closer and closer with each passing second, and I didn't know what to do. I ran as fast as I could, but they eventually caught up to me and grabbed my leg. I closed my eyes as tightly as I could; I definitely didn't want to see what was about to happen to me._

_Just as Buford was about to sink his rotting teeth inside my leg, I suddenly heard a painful groaning. I opened my eyes to see Surge's arm cannon shooting a fine laser into Buford's brain, which I assume had stunned him. He threw a chair to me with his other arm. Closing my eyes once again, I bashed their heads into the floor several times. By the fifth swing, they were coming back up and ready to kill. Next to me, I saw a fire extinguisher in its glass case. I busted it out of the case and hit them both square in the temple with it. Baljeet's head was nearly knocked off and the trailing puddle of blood showed me that the blow had killed him._

_Buford, however, was a bigger person than Baljeet. He survived the blow, although the wound left on his head was still noticeable. I threw the extinguisher at him, hoping it'd hit him and kill him. However, he caught it and threw it to the ground, smashing it. The pressure of the extinguisher was released, and the hunk of metal went flying towards me. It was too quick to dodge._

_The extinguisher hit me square in the stomach. I fell to the floor, feeling like I was going to die. I coughed up a few spurts of blood. The last things I saw were: Surge shooting darts into Buford, the darts exploding upon impact, Buford toppling to the ground, and the rest of my friends checking to see if I was okay._

"And I never thought I'd feel that kind of pain again…"

* * *

Phineas sat on the balcony of the upper floor of the Danville Mall. Twenty minutes passed, and there were no zombies in sight. As he was about to fall into unconsciousness due to lack of sleep, he heard footsteps. They were of the rest of his crew. They had gotten everything they needed, so it was time to head out. Surge was fully charged, Perry was restocked with weapons, Candace lugged around a bag full of food, and Vanessa had all of the weapons back in order, full of ammunition (with an extra stockpile in a bag she lugged around).

The group ate a meal and then headed back to camp, revitalized and ready for whatever may happen next. However, Phineas still seemed dead inside.

"She chose to fend for herself. There was nothing we could do." Candace held Phineas in as warm an embrace as she ever could. Ferb cut in for a moment and handed him a small, pink bow. "I found this on our way back. It might not bring her back, but it'll give you something to remember her by." Perry laid himself down onto Phineas's lap, only giving him his trademark chatter.

Phineas wore a half-smile on his face. "You guys know exactly how to cheer me up. Still, there's nothing that can bring me happiness at the moment. Nothing, except…her." He bent over, tears streaming down his face. His family patted him on the back and tried to comfort him in his greatest time of need.

* * *

About half an hour later, Vanessa exited her tent with a notebook in her hand. She sat down in front of the group and opened the notebook.

"Okay, everyone: I've come up with the basic framework of what we're going to do tomorrow. We're going to invade the City Hall Stronghold once again, but this time, we're not going to try to destroy the machine. Instead, we're going to plow through as many zombies as possible and then set this up." She pulled out a black box with a blue button on top of it, and presented it to everyone. "Remember those wooden sculptures the zombies were making during our last endeavor in the stronghold?" Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Perry nodded.

"Well, they were each installed with a tiny purple orb in the back of their heads. My dad had once showed me a few blueprints he had for if he was ever to gain control of the tri-state area. The purple orbs will transform the miniature wooden sculptures into what he calls 'Shadow Creatures'. They're small, but they apparently pack quite the punch. Anyways, this black box will set off a strong sound wave. I'm not sure what it'll do, but if my calculations are correct, it'll be able to disable some of the Shadow Creatures. If we pull this off at just the right time, we'll be able to modify the frequency of some of the others to allow them to bend to our will."

"What's the cause of everyone building these creatures?" Phineas asked Vanessa, not knowing why Heinz would want even more minions aiding him in his mission.

"They're to wipe you guys out. He's given the zombies orders specifically not to kill me, but he's fine with doing away with the rest of you. Once you guys are gone, the zombies can complete the machine with ease and finish my father's complete world takeover. However, if we can take out some of these creatures and some of the zombies, we'll buy ourselves enough time so that we're able to go into the building's computer system. We'll hack into it so we'll find out where my father's currently controlling this entire operation. After that, we'll go up there, and set everything right."

"Can we restore all the zombies back to their human form?" Phineas asked this, obviously concerned mostly about Isabella's fate.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we could, but I'm not sure if anything can really be reversed. At any rate, we won't be able to bring anyone back to life. So, those two we battered up at the school are done for. Same goes for everyone we have killed and will be killing in City Hall."

This made the group very afraid and concerned. Not only did this mean that Buford and Baljeet had no chance of being brought back to life, but they weren't sure _who _exactly they had killed during their ambushes into City Hall. They were just fighting for their lives. They had no idea if they killed even more close friends or even dear family. Hell, there wasn't even a sure chance of saving everyone else. This thought coursed through the minds of each of the team members before they all shuddered at these facts. They could only hope for the best.

Everyone went to their tents and retired to bed. Phineas, although deeply saddened by the loss of Isabella, needed to be as optimistic as possible in such a desperate time. He was able to sleep, although his entire night was filled with nightmares of him losing everyone else he had left. Candace and Ferb had relatively easy times falling asleep, as they knew that their dreams were better than the hellhole they lived in. However, Perry walked into Vanessa's tent and decided to console her, for he knew what she had to be going through at the moment.

"Oh, hey. What're you doing up this late, Perry?" Perry crawled onto Vanessa's lap and looked her in the eye.

"Oh, who am I kidding? You know it as well as I do. My father's gone crazy, and we have to stop him. Odds are, we're going to end up having to kill him. But he's my father…I don't want to see him die, no matter what's happened in recent events. Look, I know this may be stressful for you to, seeing what your nemesis has done to our town. It's up to you, Perry. You have to take him out. If you can do that, I'll see if I can mess with the control panel enough that we can fix this whole thing and change things back to the way they were."

Perry nodded in agreement. Still, he wore a frown on his face, for he knew the same thing Vanessa had known, although did not want to admit, for quite some time now.

_**Heinz Doofenshmirtz had to die.**_


	12. Chapter 12: Fighting For Hope

Chapter 12: Fighting For Hope

The smoke and fog was finally dissipating. It was still gloomy out, but it didn't seem as though Danville had been enduring an eternal night anymore. The sun could very faintly be seen through the mass of dark clouds spread throughout the morning sky. And that's just the sign the team needed to know that everything was going to be all right.

Phineas woke up bright and early. He let out a small yawn, feeling good as new. Perhaps it was because today could set everything right, or maybe because he had gotten enough food and sleep to become healthy again. Isabella ran through his mind all night, but he felt that this was okay. He knew that if he tried hard enough, he could get her back. He stepped out of his tent

"I take it you're feeling better." Ferb smiled. He saw that Phineas's optimism was coming back, and this made him happy.

"Yeah, I guess. I just think that everything's just going to get better from here. Maybe it's the sunlight getting back into my eyes; maybe it's the fact that we might actually set things right today. All I know is that things might actually look up for us."

"Well, I hope you keep that attitude in mind for the rest of the day, 'cause this ain't gonna be easy." Vanessa chuckled, and then stretched for a few seconds to limber herself up. "We're going to City Hall in about fifteen minutes, so I hope you're ready for some zombie ass-kicking!"

Phineas simply nodded. He grabbed a cup of coffee from the supply of food and beverages the group had stocked up on, and he took a sip from it. He wasn't sure what to expect once he got into City Hall, but he knew he'd have to have energy.

The entire group made small-talk for a few minutes, engaging in normal conversation for the first time since Danville had turned into the hellhole it was currently. Eventually, Vanessa's watch beeped, and she knew that it was time to go in.

Each member of the squad was covered in weaponry. Each member was not only given dual pistols and a machine gun, but also two katana blades each and a strap of grenades. Surge was fully loaded and ready to unload as much pain as he could on the zombies. Perry had gotten bombs, blades, and firearms from his compact weapons kit. Everyone was as ready as possible to charge into City Hall and get what they needed.

About ten minutes into the walk towards City Hall, Vanessa stumbled upon a small object that looked similar to a gun. It had rusted over completely and totally lost all color (and now was completely gray besides the rust that covered it), but it still looked like it was functional. Vanessa picked it up and decided to take it with her, not knowing what it was. The group kept on walking for a few more minutes until they finally approached the entrance. They busted open the doors and awaited the zombie onslaught.

The inside of City Hall was as bleak and dreadful as ever. The zombies had all become rotten, and their craving for flesh was more intense. Dead bodies were scattered across the floor from both starvation and previous attacks from the resistance effort. Dried blood encrusted the floors below the bodies. It was almost as if the whole population was losing life altogether. At most, it looked like they had five days left in them. However, they kept on working as if they had just started.

Once Phineas and the gang busted the door open, the zombies all shifted their focus on them. They kept coming forward. Everyone tried to hold back vomit as they all charged forward. While Phineas, Isabella, Candace, and Ferb all sliced through the zombie horde, Surge and Perry unloaded their explosive arsenals upon the army of the undead. Soon enough, several of the zombies were completely dead. Even though the team was sad that they had just killed that many people, they had a job to do. They marched forward.

Phineas walked to the control room with the rest of his team until he was stopped by a mysterious hand gripping his shoulder, rendering him unable to walk. He turned around in fear as he knew exactly what he was going to see.

The sight was gruesome. Clothes torn apart. Hair a wrangled mess. Nearly foaming at the mouth. Lifeless expression on the face. Smell of death throughout. Yet Phineas could easily identify the body of what used to be Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. And to him, it was the nail in the coffin to any hope he ever had of going back to the way things were. Seeing her this way just broke him down. She wasn't the young, carefree, beautiful maiden she once was. Now, she was a zombie. But there was no way Phineas could end the life of someone he held so dear, even if it wasn't actually her anymore. He fell onto the floor and struggled to get up. Tears streamed down his face. He was psychologically broken.

_I woke up with the biggest stomachache. I don't even know how I lived. Apparently, the blow didn't hit anything vital, and I passed out from pain alone. I could see that my entire abdominal region was bandaged up. I struggled to get myself up on my feet and walk out, but the pain still made me feel hazy and weak. I fell several times trying to get out of my tent, but I eventually regained my strength._

Isabella started to move in closer towards Phineas.

_Upon leaving my tent, I was greeted by the ecstatic and relieved faces of my friends. They told me that they weren't even completely sure that I was going to make it. Apparently, I was out for about a week and a half. They told me where we were: in downtown Danville, in a location the zombies rarely went to. The vacant lot was devoid of much trouble, and it wasn't very far from the mall. That made it easy to transport supplies, as they said. Vanessa, somehow, had cooked me a large, hot meal just this morning for when I woke up. She did it not only because she knew I'd be hungry, but also to retain faith in herself and everyone else that I'd be okay. I plowed through it and thanked Vanessa for the great food. Candace then sat down to talk to me. I asked her what she wanted to tell me, because it looked important from the look on her face._

She opened her mouth and positioned her face right in front of Phineas's arm.

_"Phineas, we're all glad you've recovered from your injury. We didn't know if you'd even make it. You probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for Isabella. She somehow treated the wound well enough that she prevented it from being fatal. She tended to you for days, and had only left your side when she was sure there was nothing more she could do. Phineas, you owe her your life. Guard her as well as you can. Make sure you devote yourself to saving her, just as she did for you. And just remember never to let go of her. Always keep hope alive."_

_I owe her my life. Keep hope alive. Those words will remain with me as long as I live._

All of a sudden, Phineas felt Isabella's teeth sink into his arm. However, it wasn't the bite he was expecting. Playfully, Isabella shook her head around, pretending to be scary. It was at this point that Phineas knew: Isabella had not become a zombie. This gave him massive relief, and he started to laugh, but he also was angry that Isabella would scare him nearly to death like that and confused as to why.

"Phineas! Isabella! Get in here, we need your help!" Candace yelled, from the control room. The two walked inside the control room.

"Isabella, what can you tell me about how to hack into my dad's files?" Vanessa asked, logging on to the control room's supercomputer with her father's "super-secret" password.

"I can't tell you much, but I can get you close to what you're looking for." Isabella started fiddling through the computer, inputting several different codes and navigating through the computer's complex interface. The entire group was dumbfounded at what she could do. Soon enough, she had gotten to a page with a world map. It was filled with several dots. After she looked through them for several minutes, Vanessa discovered what they were. The orange dots on the map were places around the world where Heinz set up additional (although smaller) components to his new machine, presumably to help the blast from it travel worldwide. There was one red dot on the map, however: located in the center of Antarctica, Heinz had built a towering stronghold to serve as his base of operations.

Now knowing what they came to find out, the group exited the room, heading out of City Hall to prepare for their trip to Antarctica. However, an alarm quickly sounded and Heinz's voice could be heard on the intercom.

"So, all of you have found the location of my stronghold? Well, good luck _getting there!_" Back at his stronghold, he pushed a remote with a red button on it, causing all of City Hall to shake violently. All of a sudden, all of Heinz's wooden likenesses reformed themselves into globs of black goo. Several began bunching up into clusters, which caused the formation of gargantuan monsters.

"Take cover, guys! And plug your ears!" Vanessa screamed, pushing the button on the black box she was carrying. She ran away as fast as she could, as did the rest of the team. They all covered their ears as the box released a sound wave so great, it caused the gigantic, black, gooey creatures to shriek in terror.

Several of the larger Shadow Creatures disintegrated into many smaller creatures. Others were so denatured by the blast's conflicting with their formation that they all turned blue and started crushing some of the smaller Shadow Creatures. All in all, six regular large Shadow Creatures had formed, and four of the large blue Shadow Creatures formed as well. The four blue Creatures combated one black Creature each. The other two black Creatures raced after Phineas and the team.

The entire group tried to race out of City Hall as fast as they could. Surge shot at the two creatures as much as he could, but they just kept absorbing his blows. He tried to slice and explode them, but they'd keep reforming from the wreckage that had formed within seconds. Perry aided Surge by throwing pocket-sized grenades at the gargantuan beasts. Eventually, the two had worn down one of the Creatures so much that it completely collapsed into a pile of goo. However, the black Creatures had successfully gotten through the blue Creatures. Two had collapsed during combat, while two others plowed through their combatants with almost no trouble.

The remaining Creatures charged at Phineas and Ferb, ready to rip them apart. Surge shot as many rockets as he could at the two, but they just reformed into one gigantic Creature.

Vanessa and Candace sliced through and shot the Creature as many times as they could, and eventually, they broke it down to about half its size. Still, it was bigger than the two. All of a sudden, from behind, about thirty shuriken blades tore through the black goo of the Creature, causing it to collapse temporarily. A look behind the gooey mess revealed Isabella, positioned in a fighting stance.

"What? Most Fireside Girls got their 'Ninja Weapons Patch' pretty early on…Now get running!" Isabella ran towards the door as fast as she could; the rest of the team followed suit. Phineas was the second to make it out, while Ferb was third. Vanessa carried Perry out and escaped seconds after Ferb. Candace, however, had her feet caught in the goo.

All of a sudden, the gooey Creature reformed and grasped Candace. She screamed in terror as Phineas looked back and saw his older sister getting crushed by the gargantuan hunk of tar. He and Surge shot the Creature for about thirty seconds straight (and nearly ran out of ammunition) until it finally combusted again...this time, it did not get back up.

Candace crawled out of the sloppy mess that was left in the Creature's wake, however, she couldn't quite gather enough energy to move anymore. Surge picked her up and carried her to the front doors of City Hall. All of a sudden, everyone could hear another voiceover from Heinz.

"You think you're getting out of here? Over my dead body!" Heinz pushed another button in his stronghold, and metal doors came down, trapping Phineas, Candace, and Surge inside. All of a sudden, various parts of City Hall combusted into flames and started spreading throughout the entire building. Phineas cowered in fear at the thought of being burned alive.

Surge suddenly shot several blasts from his arm cannon at the metal obstruction. Within about twenty seconds, there was a clear opening for the three to get out. Phineas stared in a state of complete shock.

"What? Not everything has to be some impossibly hard predicament…Now let's get out of here before we get charred to death." Surge said to Phineas, calm as day. Phineas, realizing that Surge had a point in what he said, shrugged it off and jumped through the opening that was available. Surge jumped through it as well, carrying Candace over his shoulders.

As the group escaped from City Hall, which was now engulfed in flames, they set Candace down. After giving her a small checkup, Isabella walked up to Phineas.

"I'm sorry, Phineas…but she's pretty much been crushed alive. She's suffered some major internal wounds that look worse than the ones you had. The damage could prove to be…" She didn't want to say the last word, knowing it would crush Phineas inside.

"Fatal." Phineas said, hanging his head in depression. He ran over to Candace and held her head, kissing her forehead as many times as he could.

"Phineas…l-look. I'm not…g-g-going to…m-m-m-make it t-t-t-through this. I want you to…stop this…from getting any worse. Just take out Heinz. Do it…for me. For all of Danville…and the countless lives that Heinz…has ended. Goodbye…Phineas…I believe…in you." Candace coughed up blood a few times and then tilted her head to the side. She closed her eyes, and Phineas checked to find a pulse.

"He…he killed her…That psycho…THAT FUCKING PSYCHO! He is going to PAY for what he just did!" Phineas snapped at the loss of his sister. He was sure now that he was going to kill Heinz. He was shaking with rage and couldn't even stand straight. He collapsed into tears, and the rest of his group gathered around him to comfort him after such a loss.

"Guys…let's get to work on some kind of aircraft." Phineas stated, wiping streams of tears from his eyes. "I want this madman dead within two days."


	13. Chapter 13: To Antarctica! Part One

Chapter 13: To Antarctica! (Part One)

Phineas wrote down possible blueprints for hours. He needed some kind of aircraft that could withstand the harsh climate of Antarctica, but he didn't have all the resources he needed. He was set for the basic components: he found an old, barely-functional helicopter in a landing area in downtown Danville, a large space heater to heat the entire inside of the helicopter, and a few tanks of fuel put inside the helicopter on reserve. He still needed to find a way to get the helicopter to survive freezing conditions. Eventually, he figured out just what he needed.

"Guys, I'll be right back!" Phineas ran away from the group, leaving everyone confused as to why he'd leave them even though the location they were in was presumably the only safe location in all of Danville. About fifteen minutes later, he came back with a crate that read "Heat Shield Diodes" on it. The group scratched their heads, wondering what these "diodes" were.

"I picked these up back at the mall. Apparently, you wrap them around the vessel completely, keeping it completely heated so it stays completely safe!" Phineas said, fully intending to use something he didn't know too much about to get all the way across Antarctica.

"Phineas, are you intending to use something you don't even know too much about to get all the way across Antarctica? That's crazy; it'll put all of us in danger." Isabella bolted at Phineas.

"Besides, there's an airport in Poventown, which is only a twenty minute drive from here." Ferb spoke as calmly as ever. The rest of the team gave him a weird look, seeing as he just spoke up about this now.

"You know, not everything has to be done the hard way, or even by ourselves. Even then, Danville's not the center of the universe…" The team looked at each other confusedly for a few seconds and then agreed that Ferb had a point in what he said.

Phineas took out the money the group had stolen from the mall's registers just in case they needed it. After counting it to see that it had amassed to about four thousand dollars, the team put on all of their heaviest winter garments. They all jumped onto Vanessa's hoverboard, which they refueled with the fuel from the helicopter.

The hoverboard took flight. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, and Vanessa stood on the board, while Perry was held by Phineas and Surge kept himself on the bottom of the board, using his propulsion system to speed up the board.

Twenty minutes later, the team arrived in front of the Poventown Airport. They ran inside and searched through the terminals for a flight to Antarctica, but they had no luck.

"Hey, can any of the planes here fly to Antarctica?" Vanessa said to a nearby employee.

"Yes, but we don't have any scheduled flights there until around October. Would you like to fly to another area?"

"No, we have to get to Antarctica as soon as possible!" Phineas desperately said to the employee."

"Well, there's nothing I can do, so you'll just have to find another way of getting there or just go somewhere else." The employee walked away, leaving the group dumbfounded.

"I didn't come here to give up so easily! Follow me!" Vanessa ran through the terminals into a plane that was about to take passengers. She threw the entire flight staff out of the plane, blocked off the entrance with a nearby cart, and ran through the plane as the rest of the group reluctantly followed her.

Vanessa busted open the door to the cockpit and took hold of the pilot and copilot. She knocked them out with a nerve pinch and threw them out the plane.

"Vanessa, we're probably going to get in a lot of trouble for this…are you sure that we're going about this the right way? We're hijacking a plane! Couldn't we be shot down or subdued in some way?" Phineas said, obviously distraught by what was happening.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Ferb said to Phineas to justify the whole thing. Vanessa gave him an agreeing nod and started the plane's engines.

"Perfect! The engines are full and we're almost ready for takeoff! We just have to position ourselves, which'll take a few minutes. Surge, go make sure no one gets in here. The rest of you make yourselves at home; I'll take care of everything from here."

"Shouldn't you have a copilot to help you out?" Ferb pointed out, trying to hide the small blush he wore on his face.

"Yeah, sure. You can probably help me figure out how to work all of the navigational stuff while I pilot this thing." Vanessa stated, bringing Ferb into the cockpit before closing the doors.

All of a sudden, the cart blocking the entrance was kicked out of the way and three guards ran into the plane. They were all tall, muscle-clad men who were quite obviously trained to handle a hijacking attempt such as this. They threw Surge out of their way and headed to the cockpit. They were about to open the doors when Surge released three wires and shot them at each of the guards. All of a sudden, they were electrocuted (to a nonlethal level) and then they fell into unconsciousness. Surge picked them up and threw them out the passageway, but more guards kept coming in. They shot at Surge as much as they could, but the bullets kept bouncing off of Surge. Eventually, Surge let out a sound wave so strong that it immobilized the guards for several seconds. He threw them out and closed the doors to the plane.

"Okay, passengers, get ready for takeoff! It'll be about a five hour flight to Antarctica, so get nice and comfortable!" The plane's intercom rang throughout, and the plane started to move. It picked up momentum until it finally took flight.

Inside the terminal, Ferb and Vanessa worked on operating the plane and navigating it so it would get them to Antarctica. Vanessa piloted the plane while Ferb looked over the radar and GPS to make sure everything was going as planned.

"The skies are clear, madam. Should be an easy flight from here." Ferb laid back and relaxed himself so he could think for a little while.

At the airport, the plane's original pilot woke up from his daze and picked up his phone.

"This is Lars Wilson, pilot of the Marsh T-830 airplaine."

"We've got a hijacked plane on the loose."

"It's apparently headed to Antarctica, so I've been told."

"My orders? Take it down. No matter what it takes."


	14. Chapter 14: An Unlikely Confrontation

Chapter 14: To Antarctica! (Part Two: An Unlikely Confrontation)

Vanessa had somehow managed to get the flight under complete control within minutes, which gave Ferb a chance to relax and think during the rest of the time. He kept his eyes focused on the view outside of the plane, but gave Vanessa the occasional glance every once in a while. Eventually, Vanessa looked over towards Ferb, and she was deeply intrigued by what thoughts may be held in the mind of the usually-silent boy.

"What're you thinking about? You've barely said anything this entire flight…You just worried about fighting my father or whatever?" Vanessa gave Ferb an attentive look, which made him feel uneasy.

"It's nothing, really. Just keep flying." Ferb wasn't quite sure why she, of all people, chose _now_ to attempt a personal conversation with him. They all had enough on their minds already. The very girl he had been dreaming about all summer. The very one that he was dying to confess his love to for just as long. The girl that made even his strong mind crumble to pieces like a rushed game of Jenga. He went back into his original train of thought while Vanessa continued to pilot the plane. Still, whatever Ferb was thinking about stuck itself deep in Vanessa's subconscious for a while.

Two hours into the flight, everything remained calm. On the passengers' side, Phineas and Isabella had both fallen asleep (Isabella cuddled against Phineas's shoulder, unknowingly) while Perry lay back, relaxed. He was reading a bunch of technology magazines. He did it partly to make the time go by faster, and partly to alleviate the stress of the impending situation. His nemesis was on the fast track to world domination, and his owners were about to risk all of their lives going in and trying to stop him. And even with all the tremendous things Phineas and Ferb had done through the years…he knew what was coming. He wished he could warn them, but he couldn't talk to them, being a platypus and all.

But what was he to do? There was a madman ready to take over the world with no one aware besides him, his owners, the girl from across the street, and the madman's own daughter. He just had to go with them and hope that they could take Heinz down without getting themselves killed. Still, that was much easier said than done. It took Perry thirteen months of specialized training to even come close to gaining the experience necessary to defeat Heinz so frequently. He had gotten so good at what he did during his time as an agent that he made foiling Heinz's daily plans extremely easy (and ended up making Heinz look like a complete fool in the business of evil).

The training regime of the OWCA was incredibly strenuous. Every agent was put into near-death situations every day for thirteen months; each more dangerous than the next. This would increase the cadet's reaction speed, agility, and endurance. Then, they would face hordes of battle droids to increase combat skills. Finally, they would go up against their major to see how they would fare against a skilled "nemesis." Once that was done, they were assigned to the biggest threat on the map for as long as they were needed there.

But Phineas and Ferb hadn't gone through that. They were just kids. They weren't supposed to even experience true evil. They were innocent. And because of one madman and plenty of unfortunate circumstance, their innocence was both ripped away and replaced with tragedy and horror. And Perry knew, even if he had kept with himself the most optimistic of attitudes, they had a very slim chance of surviving.

Still, it was them or the entire world.

Everything had seemed incredibly tranquil, but in actuality, there were unbelievable hidden amounts of stress attached to this high degree of peace. In the cockpit, Ferb and Vanessa were silent. Ferb didn't know how he was going to even interact with Vanessa, while Vanessa continuously thought about what was going on with Ferb and what she was going to do when she actually had to confront her father. Phineas and Isabella were fast asleep, but both were wondering how to go about their lives now that they had feelings for each other. The terrifying thought, though, was that the person they had fallen in love with might not survive the invasion against Heinz. And Perry…he was a nervous wreck about what might happen to Phineas and Ferb once they confront Heinz. However, he was a platypus; he could cleverly hide his nervousness by just putting on his "act natural" look.

Everyone looked peachy. But they all knew they couldn't stay calm forever. There was just too much looming over their heads.

And of course, the plane seemed to be having a smooth flight…but, unbeknownst to the entire crew, there were ten fighter jet right behind them, ready to take them down.

"Hello, this is the United States Air Force. You are flying a stolen vessel. Please land your aircraft or we will use force." This came through the intercom beside Vanessa, and she started to panic. Sweat dripped down her face; she didn't know what to do. So, she did the first thing that came to mind in her state of panic.

"Let's try to ditch 'em!" Vanessa said, in an impulsive act that even she didn't quite find rational. She lowered the plane through the clouds and then veered to the left. However, the fleet was trailing behind her, completely able to take her down. The planes went through several twists and turns until Vanessa finally just gave up on the prospect of losing the planes.

"You have one minute to land, or we will have to shoot you down." This brought Vanessa to an even greater panic. However, she brought herself to comply with the man's demand. She lowered her plane below the clouds again and spotted a large island. Still, she definitely didn't have enough experience (or space, for that matter) to land the plane. She didn't have much time to find a way to safety…but the most obvious idea came to her mind almost instantly.

In a last effort, she grabbed everyone in the plane. She grabbed all four of the emergency parachutes and threw them at Phineas, Isabella, and Ferb, while keeping one for herself.

"Wake up, you guys! We need to get out of here now!" She helped everyone get their parachutes on, put Perry in Phineas's arms, and opened the emergency hatch. Everyone flew out of the plane and activated their parachutes when they were close enough to land. The plane crashed into the water, and the entire team had a safe landing to shore. Phineas, however, activated his too early and landed in the water about a quarter of a mile offshore.

Once everyone was grounded, the fighter jets started to land themselves onto the island, one by one. The final one landed, and a man stepped out of it. He was a tall man of about six feet and two inches. Donning his military uniform, the man did not have too many distinguishable features, except for a blood-red goatee that covered the lower portions of his face. He approached Vanessa, Isabella, and Ferb with a stern look on his face.

"Oh my Lord, you're only kids! Do you even _realize _how illegal and dangerous it is to hijack a plane? You could've gotten yourselves killed or put in jail for the rest of your life. This could've been seen as a terrorist plot! What in the world were you _thinking_?" The man chastised the three, for he did not know the situation at hand.

"Look, commander, we've got a man hell-bent on taking over the world to stop over in Antarctica. He's zombified all of the city of Danville, and he's planning to take over the world next. He has taken a life and sucked most of the life out of many others! Please believe me, the fate of the entire world rests on you helping us!" Vanessa started to beg the man. She knew there was no way that he'd ever comply with a couple of kids that just hijacked a plane, but she still had to try. For Candace. For Danville. For the world.

"Little lady, you're not making a word of sense here. Zombies? World domination? That kind of thing only happens in overly cliché children's cartoons, video games and summer blockbuster movies. Are you trying to tell me that a man in this world is actually capable of doing this? There's no way. At any rate, we need to get you guys home. Your parents must be worried sick." The man took off his Air Force cap and revealed his face. This put a disturbed look on Ferb's face.

_He looks just like Phineas. His head is of an unusual triangular shape (although, unlike Phineas, his head was much more proportional to his actual body), and his hair just seems like a rougher, shorter, more rugged, and flatter version of Phineas's hair. What's going on here?_

"If it's all right to ask, sir, what is your name?" Ferb rose up from the background, asking the man.

"My name is Percival Flynn, young man. Why do you ask?"

At this time, Phineas and Perry arrived ashore. Phineas was weary from the swim he had just taken, but he got over it quickly. He shook his head to dry himself out a bit, and walked over to the group with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on, guys?"

Ferb wasn't quite sure how to think at the moment, but he did know one thing for sure. It hit him like a ton of bricks once he saw the two side by side. There was no denying it now. He opened his mouth, not sure how everyone would react to his revelation.

"Phineas…this is Percival Flynn. If my assumptions are correct, then this man is your biological father."


	15. Chapter 15: Who in the World?

Chapter 15: Who in the World is Percival Flynn?

"Me, this boy's father? I don't have any kids, so you're mistaking me for someone else. Still, your friend does happen to look like me a tiny bit." Percival stood in front of Phineas, examining him carefully so he could find a way to refute Ferb's claim. He continued to look at Phineas before noticing Perry standing behind him.

"Hey, what do you have here?" Percival donned a genuine look of interest and looked behind Phineas to get a closer look. "Wait, is this a platypus? Wow, I haven't seen one of these in _ages!_" Perry looked into Percival's eyes for several seconds before jumping into his arms. Percival was taken aback due to the shockingly warm welcome he received from an animal he had never even met before.

"Aw, he likes you." Phineas chuckled a bit before opening his arms. "C'mon boy, get off of him." Perry jumped out of Percival's arms and back into Phineas's.

"Well, isn't that the darnedest thing. Anyways, kids, as I was saying...That was an insane stunt you pulled with that plane. I don't care what kind of crackpot excuse you kids can come up with; it's time to send you guys home. Your parents must be worried sick about you all! I can fly you guys to the nearest airport in my helicopter." Percival walked towards his helicopter, signaling everyone to come with him.

Ferb got up and ran in front of Percival, blocking his way to his helicopter.

"You didn't seem to have gotten what we were saying. Our town is destroyed. Our families are dead. We need to get to Antarctica to make sure the man that caused it all doesn't wreak any more havoc on the world. Do you understand me?" Ferb's face showed an intense anger that his peers had never seen on it before. Meanwhile, Percival remained indifferent. "You're going to fly us to Antarctica and help us stop him. If you don't, have fun living under a dictatorship for the rest of your life. One run by a man who has killed several innocent people and left a town to ruin for the sole purpose of turning its inhabitants into his personal mind-slaves." Ferb let out a few tears before breathing heavily for several seconds.

"He's right, you know." A tall, shadowy figure appeared before the crowd. "Heinz Doofenshmirtz has caused a great deal of trouble in the town of Danville. Percival, you're actually one of the few men qualified to stop this dystopia from spreading." The man stepped forward.

"Francis? What're you doing here?" Percival looked at Major Francis Monogram in shock.

"I'm here to help these kids get to Antarctica. I've been tracking their locations for the last two days. This is a matter of global importance." The Major bent down to the ground, facing Perry. "I'm guessing you're wondering how I made it out, huh?" Perry nodded, dumbfounded to see his boss appear before him.

"Well, my base is pretty deep down underground, Agent P. In fact, we're about half a mile below your headquarters. When Doofenshmirtz set off that blast, I was protected from its terrible effects. Sadly, Carl did not have the same luck. He was out buying me my lavender body wash when the wave set off. Sadly, he's among the zombies now..."

"Ooh, lavender? That's my favorite!" Isabella jokingly interrupted, which spawned a fit of uproarious laughter throughout the party.

Percival, however, remained staring at Monogram.

"What? A man's gotta stay clean somehow..." Monogram started to get defensive, while blushing at the soft chortles coming from the children surrounding him.

"It's not that, Francis. We can talk about your girly bathing preferences some other time. What's going on with this whole 'zombie' situation, and who are these kids?" Percival looked at the crowd among him, not understanding how anything happening to him was even remotely possible.

"Well, let's start off with Agent P here. He's one of our top agents in an elite squad of animal secret agents known as the O.W.C.A. You, Percival, played an incredibly important part in helping us bring Agent P up to be the flawless agent he is today. You see, while we were stationed together, I noticed just how strong you were in hand-to-hand combat. Before we all left for our homes, I took a few strands of your hair and had some engineers transfer a bit of your DNA into a platypus egg, which contained Agent P here. You see, the O.W.C.A. is made up of several of us Majors. We choose individuals with exceptional genetic material and breed animals using said genetic material. I felt so much pride in you as a person that I chose you to be Agent P's namesake when he was born. I based our headquarters under the house of these two boys here, and delivered Agent P to them. Ever since his training, we have assigned him to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, a madman bent on taking over the town of Danville. In his last venture, he succeeded, and the results proved to be catastrophic. These kids, along with Agent P, their neighbor, and Doofenshmirtz's own daughter, were able to escape the town and are now trying to find him so they could defeat him once and for all. Does anyone want any _more_ lengthy exposition?"

"Actually, I would like to know something." Phineas stepped forward. "Is this guy _really_ my father? I mean, that seems highly unlikely that we'd see him in this kind of situation..."

"Oh, Percival? As far as I know, you two aren't related at all...it's probably just some weird coincidence or something." Monogram shrugged a bit, not knowing what kind of answer he could give with any sort of certainty whatsoever. "However, if he was your father, wouldn't that be crazy? It'd be like one of those creepy plot twists you see in those movies all the time!"

Phineas and Ferb just looked at each other, not knowing what to say next.

"So, you guys are really telling the truth, huh?" Percival said with a slight grin on his face. Everyone else simply nodded their heads. "Well, then. Everyone, hop in, we've got to get to Antarctica and stop this 'Doofenshmirtz' fellow!"

Percival started the helicopter, and the rest of the group followed him in. He checked his navigational systems and looked back everyone. "Okay, guys, I'm gonna go ahead and estimate that it's gonna be about four hours before we get to Antarctica. I suggest you take this time to come up with a plan to stop this guy. Hopefully, it'll be one that doesn't get us _killed_." The helicopter took flight, and Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Vanessa, Perry, Surge, and Monogram gathered together to plan out a way of combating Heinz at his stronghold. Phineas wiped some sweat off of his face and pulled out a sheet of blueprint paper and a marker.


	16. Chapter 16: The Goal is to Stay Alive

Chapter 16: The Goal is to Stay Alive

"So, everyone...where do we go from here?" This was all Phineas Flynn could say in the midst of everything that was going on with his life. With four hours left until what could spell disaster for him and his friends, he was at a loss for words and ideas. His nerves were getting the best of him, and it showed. Sweat drops flowed down his face while he started to shake. After Candace's death, Phineas knew full well that this day could be his last.

"Well, if there's one thing I can tell you, you're probably gonna have to think about your entrance into the place. My dad's pretty creative with setting up traps." Vanessa grabbed the marker and the blueprint paper. "You should probably break in from the front, then step back as quickly as possible. Then, strafe back a bit, just in case." She wrote down the path she thought would work best for everybody to take, having seen several of the ways Perry had been trapped while facing her dad.

"Well, maybe it'd be better if we didn't all break into the same spot. What if we surrounded the area, broke in, and grouped together when it was safe?" Isabella pulled out another marker and started to draw her own routes. "That way, if one of us gets trapped, the rest of us will still be able to do something, and maybe even help whoever's trapped."

Monogram pulled the paper away. "You kids don't get it. Doofenshmirtz probably has a lot of security measures set in place specifically to get rid of all of you. This is why we need to go near the building and immediately use your little robot friend here to demolish the place as quickly as possible."

Phineas looked up at the group, as if a tiny little lightbulb had gone off somewhere in his brain, causing a wave of revelation. "Surge...yes, Surge. He's exactly what we need. We'll just unload near-infinite levels of heavy artillery at his fortress. There's no way he could avoid that!" He picked up the blueprint paper and drew a circle outside the fortress, and then a line leading into it. "All we need to do is blast the fortress with our heavy explosives right here. Then, we need to go inside with Surge. Surge'll blast the insides to destroy his defense mechanisms and whatnot, while we go find that madman and take him out. We might be able to pull this off without a hitch, but if he has any tricks up his sleeve, we need to be ready."

* * *

The helicopter continued its flight for four hours, just as planned. However, upon the group's arrival to Antarctica, the helicopter started freezing up. Percival wasn't able to maintain complete control of the helicopter, but he was able to find a decent enough spot to crash land into. Everyone was able to withstand the crash landing without any injury. They all put on thick black jackets, sweat pants, and hats, and then they stepped outside of the helicopter. Noticing a dark cloud over the horizon,

"That, over there, in the distance...I guess this is it, huh?" Isabella shivered from both fear and the cold.

"Yeah, this is it. We're at the point of no return, guys. If we don't make it out...well, it's been a good ride." Phineas stepped forward, ahead of the group. They all walked forward, hiking towards the colossal monument ahead of them.

Vanessa, in an effort to save time, tried to start her hoverboard. However, it would not start up, and therefore was useless. "Weird, this thing got me out of _space_...Why isn't it working when we're only in a cold region of the planet? Ugh, this thing couldn't have chosen a worse time to mess up on me!" She threw the hoverboard into the helicopter and proceeded to walk with the group angrily.

After about ten minutes, the group faced a steep hill they had to climb. Perry threw a grappling hook up to the top of the hill, and everyone used the rope to climb up it. They walked five more minutes and faced several gaps in the ice that they had to cross.

"Okay, everyone. I think I remember reading something about this in the Fireside Girls manual. We just have to sideste-" Isabella was cut off by everyone else jumping across the ice platforms. Sighing, she followed suit with everyone else.

After crossing the gaps, everyone could clearly see Heinz's fortress in its entirety. Made of ice, it was a colossal tower that stretched into the clouds. Above it was a black cloud, spreading throughout the evening sky. The group couldn't help themselves but look up at the gargantuan icy construction in both shock and astonishment. After a few seconds, they continued their journey towards the monument. They were quickly getting fatigued under the heavy clothes they were wearing and the extreme weather conditions they were experiencing, so they stopped for a few seconds to catch their breath.

Suddenly, the ice surrounding everyone started to collapse. All that was left was one large ice platform, with no way for the group to escape it. Emerging from the depths of the icy water was a familiar face. However, it was one face no one had wanted to see. His cold, gigantic body towered over the group as they cowered in fear. His head covering the sun, he had never looked so menacing. Today, however, he was possibly the most terrifying thing that could have ever come across such a determined group of people. They had not been prepared for this encounter. Everyone simply stared as the large figure brushed ice off of his shoulders and came closer to the group.

Even though his previous bouts with certain members of the group had been unsuccessful and humorously futile, there was little to no chance that this fight would end with zero casualties. Staring at the children for several seconds, his mouth started to light up and a most surprising sound was emitted deep within the depths of the creature. It was a most casual and regular sound; however, it was one that took on a whole different meaning for this particular situation. His voice echoed throughout the entire region, and the mere sound he let out was enough to cause several blocks of ice to fall into the ocean. The statement belted out by the creature was the only sound the group could hear for several seconds.

"Hi, I'm Norm."


	17. Chapter 17: This Time, It's A Nightmare

Chapter 17: This Time, It's A Nightmare

The children looked up at Norm. He towered over everyone with a massive height of over fifty feet. With no path to another glacier, everyone was stuck where they were until Norm could be vanquished.

Perry started off by taking out four hand grenades. He threw two at Norm's legs and the other two at his face. They exploded, exposing small bits of Norm's inside wiring. However, the explosions didn't seem to affect Norm besides the visual damage.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You seem to have lost your explosives. Don't worry, I have some you can borrow!" Norm's "mouth" opened, letting out a small cannon. The cannon shot out three miniature bombs. The first bomb landed on the middle of the glacier's surface. Major Monogram was able to catch the second bomb in his hand, preventing it from becoming stuck in the ice, which would have killed everyone upon explosion. The third landed on the very edge of the glacier, about three inches away from falling off of it.

"Okay, Francis, here you go. Nothing to worry about, just a lightweight bomb. No need to bring up any uncomfortable memories from your high school football days...You just gotta hit him where it'll do the most damage...okay, let's see, one more blast to the head should do it." Monogram threw his arm back and prepared to throw. Focusing his eyes solely on Norm's face, he stepped forward to gain momentum and threw the bomb in a path headed directly for its designated target.

Norm, however, caught the bomb short of its path. "Wait, what's this? Didn't I _just_ get this for you? How _rude_ of you!" Norm put the bomb in his palm and prepared to flick the bomb towards the group. He put his hand closer to his eye to get his cameras better focused on the bomb while everyone cowered in fear. However, this is the very moment when all three bombs started to tick. Then, they started ticking faster. Within seconds, they were beeping at an alarming rate. Then, in straight succession, three loud booms were heard throughout the area.

The first bisected the entire surface of the glacier. The underlying crater between the two segments of ice was about twenty feet deep. The third rolled off of the edge of the glacier and exploded midair near some of the ice's fault lines. Because of this, the explosion set off a glacier avalanche, causing large amounts of ice to collapse into the river. The second, however, exploded right in Norm's hand and face. His left hand was obliterated, while his right hand suffered only minor damages. The cameras that served as his "eyes" were destroyed, and much of the casing on his head that covered his internal circuitry was blown clean off. However, his voice box and microphones were still intact, leaving him with the ability to talk and hear.

"That wasn't very nice! Hey, where is everyone? I can't see! Are you here? Or how about here? Oh, no, you're probably _here_..." With every utterance of the word "here", Norm spastically slammed his right arm onto the glacier on which the group was standing. Everyone was able to dodge the attacks, but with every slam more ice was taken off of the glacier.

"Phineas! Ferb! Go up there and take care of him. We can't last much longer with him destroying this glacier!" Vanessa pointed to Norm's arm, screaming. "You've got to get on that and walk up to his main circuits in his head. If you don't disable him, we're all doomed!"

Making sure to provide an opportunity for the boys to get to Norm's head, Surge shot several rockets at Norm's feet, causing him to collapse on his knees. Norm then slammed his arm as hard as possible into the glacier, breaking more ice off.

"Perfect! Ferb, let's get up there. As Vanessa said, we don't have much time..." Phineas and Ferb jumped on Norm's hand as soon as it landed on the glacier. They "rode" the hand back up to Norm's head and got ready to jump off. However, Norm quickly opened up his hand and grasped Phineas and Ferb in his hand.

"There you are! Well, isn't that just _smashing_!" Norm then slammed his hand against the glacier once again.

"I don't know what was more painful, his thrashing us against that glacier or that terrible pun..." Ferb slipped himself out of Norm's hand right after the impact and got right on top of it once again. He pulled Phineas out of it and they jumped onto the shoulders as soon as they were in range.

The two brothers jumped up to Norm's head. After pulling out his microphones, they started to fiddle with the wires.

After a couple of seconds, Norm started to appear confused. "Why can't I hear anything? What are you doing to my brain? Whoever doing this is a monster!" Norm then proceeded to slam his right hand against his own head. Phineas and Ferb jumped down Norm's left arm as quickly as possible. Norm's right arm slammed into his own circuitry, destroying it. An electric shock coursed through Norm's body, and he toppled forward into the glacier in front of him. This caused the glacier to shake several times and several chunks of ice to collapse into the water below. Isabella fell to the edge of the glacier, screaming as she looked down at the icy water below her. Vanessa and Perry tried to help her up, but she fell onto a small, shallow glacier about twenty feet below. She collapsed from the fall, and she did not get back up.

"Oh no, Isabella's too close! We have to get her!" Phineas raced to the glacier by climbing down Norm's leg and running to it as fast as he possibly could. He climbed down patches on the glacier until he was able to get to a safe distance to jump down to the one Isabella was on. He jumped onto the small glacier, but his weight caused it to tip over slightly, dipping Isabella's face in the water. "We're getting you out of here, Isabella. We've got to. We've just got to!" His solemn voice turned into a loud yell. "Surge, get down here! We need you to fly us back up now!" Phineas grabbed the unconscious Isabella and carried her in his arms. Surge flew down as commanded and carried Phineas and Isabella back up to the glacier they started from.

The group then looked at the toppled Norm, whom had luckily provided a clear pathway to the glacier behind them. Using him as a bridge, everyone went up individually. Phineas gave Isabella to Surge in hopes that he could warm her back up. Everyone climbed up Norm's lifeless arm and walked across it. They got to the glacier they were on before, and walked on a path to Doofenshmirtz's Arctic fortress. Phineas walked with Surge, making sure to tend to Isabella as much as he could.

"_Phineas, you owe her your life. Guard her as well as you can. Make sure you devote yourself to saving her, just as she did for you. And just remember never to let go of her. Always keep hope alive."_

"Candace, losing you was the worst thing that could have happened to me. Now, I'm on the verge of losing Isabella...it's getting really hard to hope for the best. I'm sorry, Candace, but-" Phineas was interrupted by the sound of Isabella coughing. Phineas's melancholy expression quickly turned into an optimistic smile. "Isabella, you're okay!"

"Ph-ph-ph-phineas...I'm c-c-c-c-cold. What h-h-h-happened?" Isabella could not hold back her shivering, except for the occasional cough or sneeze.

"You had a bad fall, but you're gonna be fine now, Isabella. We're gonna make sure of that." Phineas wiped beads of nearly-frozen sweat off of his face and kissed Isabella for a few seconds. "Look, Isabella, I love you, and I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you. I couldn't bear seeing you die like Candace did..." Phineas cried a bit as he held on to Isabella as tightly as he could without hurting her.

"Phineas, I l-l-love you t-t-t-too, b-b-b-but it's gonna be h-h-h-hard to say that I'll make it out of this one. I'm feeling pretty s-s-s-sick..." Isabella continued shivering, sneezing, and coughing.

"Don't say that, Isabella. You're gonna be fine. All you need to do is rest. Just go back to sleep. You'll be fine." Phineas softly cried as he saw Isabella getting paler by the second. He knew what was going to happen. He knew that there was no way it could logically be avoided. The harsh reality of him losing Isabella was continuing to come closer, and with no possibility of any medical care whatsoever being administered on her, things were looking grim.

"Ph-ph-ph-phineas?" Isabella struggled to talk through the intense cold she was feeling.

"Yes, Isabella?" Phineas took Isabella into his arms, for he didn't know what might happen to her next.

"I'll a-a-a-always love you. Never f-f-f-forget that. Always. I'm s-s-s-sorry things didn't go as p-p-planned, but just r-r-r-remember. No matter where you g-g-g-go, I'll a-a-a-always be beside you..." Isabella gave Phineas a soft kiss and drifted off into unconsciousness.

Phineas put his hand over Isabella's heart to check for a pulse. He felt absolutely nothing. She was dead. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, the newfound love of his life, was dead. He fell onto his knees and looked down to the ground, tears freezing on the way down his face. It was over. He was starting to lose everything. And the one thing that had guided him through all his troubles in recent time, the one statement..."Keep hope alive." This statement was starting to mean less and less the more he looked at his life as of yet. In the last few weeks, life had gone from absolutely amazing to an absolute hell. It was now a total nightmare and there was no escape from it.

"I'm sorry, Candace...but hope is dead. Like you. Like Isabella. It's gone. _**Hope is dead.**_"


	18. Chapter 18: The Arctic Fortress

Chapter 18: The Arctic Fortress

Phineas and the group continued on their trek to Doof's castle. They could easily see it in the distance, but everyone was getting weak from the extreme weather conditions of Antarctica. Phineas had especially gotten weak due to his being crippled emotionally with the deaths of Candace and Isabella. As a result, everyone in the group crowded around Phineas to console him. Perry laid in Phineas's arms, hugging him to comfort him. Ferb kept one arm around Phineas, creating a bond with his stepbrother when he truly needed it the most. However, once Doof's castle was within clear sight with no obstacles in view, everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

Phineas broke away from the group and stood in front of them. He donned a frown and started to speak, holding back tears. "Listen, everyone. He may have taken some of us down, but there's a lot more at stake. He's taken everything away from us: our way of life as we had known it, our families, our friends, and our homes. However, we still have our bodies and we're still alive. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm fully prepared to give my life up to help end this maniac's. All I care about now is taking him down. In order to win this fight, you must all realize that the chances of making it out of here might be very slim, and you should stop at nothing in order to accomplish our goal. Our lives are now over. The fight for everyone else's is what's left. Are we all on the same page with this?" Everyone nodded in response. "Great. Now, let's get going. Surge, you know what to do."

"Yes, master. Please stand back." Surge's hand shot out into the castle walls, but did not do any damage. "Now, for the real show." A sleek black arm cannon emerged in place of Surge's hand. A sound was emitted from the cannon for a few seconds, and then the cannon's color started to change to a fiery red. It started to vibrate before Surge slowly pulled his arm back. Then, in one solid movement, he lunged his cannon arm forward, shooting about fifty large rockets at Doof's castle walls, in hope of prematurely collapsing the fortress. However, no matter what Surge shot at the fortress, nothing happened at all.

Suddenly, a sound was heard from near the group. It was the sound of an intercom turning on. A cough was heard, followed by a message from Heinz Doofenshmirtz himself.

"Just giving you a little 'heads up', don't waste your energy trying to obliterate the walls here. They're made out of something that can not be penetrated: _pure evil_! Oh, and a complex technological mixture of fire-retardant, shock-absorbing glass, diamonds, and some other expensive durable materials that my contractor explicitly stated would be a bad financial move to buy. Well, look where that 'bad financial move' got me now, 'Dave Blorny of Blorny's Contracting Company'! I'm the one in a giant fortress, and you're the one who's unemployed and currently living in a box on the streets with the rest of your dumb, smelly family of broke Blornys! Anyways, everyone, it would be a better move if you just used the door. Don't worry, it's not filled with traps or anything."

No one was sure whether he was to be trusted, with the murderous rampage and the destruction of an entire city and all. However, they decided to open the door to his fortress and have a peek inside. They were greeted with Doof, who was wearing a gigantic robot suit with a rounded sheet of glass guarding him within the cockpit, simply standing in front of the group, with a smile on his face.

"Why, hello, everyone! I'm so impressed that you all were able to make it! Yeah, this room's a bit small for the "festivities" I have planned for this joyous occasion, so let's move to the main hall. Come on, everyone, don't be scared!"

The group hesitated with every step, as they did not expect what could happen at any given moment. However, by the time they made it across the short pathway to the door to the main hall, nothing had happened to them.

"What, did you not think I was telling the truth? Call me a lot of things, but I'm definitely not a _liar_..." Doof opened the door to the main hall. The main hall was modeled similarly to a colosseum. It was an incredibly large room with golden walls and pillars around the entire room. However, there was no floor; there was only a large mound of snow that served as the floor to the hall. Doof looked down at the snowy floor and nearly blushed from the embarrassment. "Yeah, guys, sorry about the whole 'no-floor' thing...after spending so much money fortifying the outside and _beautifying_ the inside, there wasn't much money left over for a floor. So, I made do with what nature gave me. I hope you don't mind too much..."

Everyone walked forward, only to be greeted by four middle-aged men standing in front of two microphones, singing "_Doofenshmirtz's Arctic Fortress_!" Heinz walked in front of the four men and simply wore a melancholy expression on his face.

"Look, guys, I hate to do this to you guys, but things have been tight financially lately with the building of this fort and all...basically, I'm going to have to let you go. It's nothing personal or anything, it's just that there's not really going to be much a need for you four anymore. You've served me well over the last few years, but I guess this is the end..."

"But Heinz, we came all the way to Antar-" The third member of the group was interrupted by Heinz pouncing on every member of his jingle-singers into the snow, killing them all.

"So sad...they really were good workers. But alas, in this economy, you really can't just employ people all willy-nilly... Anyways, this is my main hall, and it's where you will all be spending the rest of your lives. Please make the next few seconds as comfortable as possible. I'll make sure to make things quick and painless for you guys." Doof took a step back and charged up the arm cannons in his robot suit. Meanwhile, Phineas and the group all ran as fast as they could as far away from Doof as possible. "Oh, come on, guys! You're just delaying the inevitable! What's the point of all this? Ugh, _fine_, I guess I'll play along..." Heinz shot a rocket at the pack, but the resulting explosion turned out to work out negatively from him.

Vanessa let out a loud shriek. The rocket hadn't hit her, but it had badly burned her leg. Doof quickly doused the flame with water from his arm cannon. He opened a door to another room in the fortress, entered it, and closed the door. Seconds later, he came out of the door holding a jetpack.

"Vanessa, what are you doing here in my fortress? Seriously, I could have killed you! I've rigged this thing to take you right outside of the Tri-State Area. Go to somewhere safe. I couldn't stand for you to get hurt here, okay?" He forcefully hooked the jetpack to Vanessa's back and started it. Vanessa started to float up, but she was slightly able to resist. She tried to turn upside down to misdirect the jetpack, but she was unable to prevent the jetpack from taking control of her motion.

However, just before she was removed from the fortress, a small, rusted-over raygun fell out of her pockets and onto the floor in front of Phineas. Phineas picked up the raygun and decided to test out what its function was. He packed a snowball from the ground and threw it up. While the ball was midair, he shot it with the raygun. All of a sudden, the snowball drastically increased in size. Phineas's expression of terror suddenly changed into a hopeful smile. After so long, all of the gears in his brain started to turn again. He knew exactly what to do with this little miracle of an invention.

"Guys, don't worry. I have a plan."


	19. Chapter 19: Doofus Ex Machina

Chapter 19: Doofus Ex Machina

"You people and your fooling around...it almost got my daughter killed!" Doofensmirtz's face lit up with rage, ready to explode at any time. "You shall pay for your stubborn, relentless actions with your _lives_!"

"Um, weren't you going to kill us anyways? You had specifically said that about three minutes ago..." Monogram shrugged and started to laugh a bit.

"Who are you to correct me? I'm the one with the heavy artillery here. You're the ones who are all going to be _dead_ in a matter of minutes. I've had it with your insolence!" Doof stepped back and opened fire throughout the room.

The bullets sprayed throughout the room. While Perry, Ferb, Percival, and Monogram dodged the bullets as much as they possibly could, Phineas took Surge and was able to get far enough behind Doof so that it would take several seconds for Doof to get in Phineas's firing range.

"Well, then, this little gun here happens to increase the size of other things dramatically? Only one thing left to do now." Phineas whispered to himself. Then, he smiled and aimed the Enlarge-inator forward. "Surge, unload everything you've got at the giant robot suit!"

Surge did as he was commanded: he unloaded large amounts of ammunition, rockets, lasers, and miscellaneous explosives at Doof's mechanical shield. Phineas shot the Enlarge-inator at the ammunition on the way to their designated target so that they would dramatically increase in size. Although they were definitely able to wear out the defense mechanisms on the suit, Phineas knew they didn't have much time before one or more of their comrades would receive a fatal bullet wound.

"Surge, aim your cannon right at his robot arm and _keep__shooting_!" Phineas panicked, as he didn't know how much time he possibly had left. Sweat dripped down his face and his hand jittered while he held the gun. Still, he was able to retain his composure for at least a few more seconds. At least, he hoped so.

Surge re-aimed his artillery at Doof's cannon arm, and Phineas used the Enlarge-inator to once again strengthen said artillery. Within seconds, the constant unloading exploded the socket between the arm and its torso, detaching the arm and rendering it useless. Phineas took a deep breath in relief.

"Perry, get into the cockpit and take him out!" Phineas yelled at Perry, now that Doof had no means of attacking the group. This was going to work. They'd all be out of this nightmare soon. They had nothing to worry about. They were _saved_.

"Don't you think you're getting anywhere near me!" Doof started jumping throughout the hall, stomping everywhere so that he would crush the life out of anything that was unlucky enough to come below his feet.

However, he had underestimated just how good of an agent Perry actually was. Skillfully dodging every stomp, Perry was able to climb on the suit's left leg. In response, Doof started spinning the leg as fast as he possibly could. However, Perry still was able to climb up the suit flawlessly. He headed up the torso and took out three of his remaining four pocket grenades. He launched one at the glass shielding of the cockpit. Upon the first explosion, it appeared as though nothing had really changed about the glass. As a result, Perry threw his second pocket grenade at the shield. There was only a crack. He reached at his belt and grabbed onto the third. He threw it once again, and...bingo! The explosion caused a break in the glass, creating a hole just large enough for Perry to use as an entrance.

Taking a deep breath, Perry entered the cockpit.

"So, Perry the Platypus, you've decided to fight me again. Look, with the small space we're in, and the fact that I'm about four times your standing height, I'm pretty sure there's no way you're going to wi-" Doof's monologue was interrupted by Perry kicking him in the face, driving him into the robot suit's control panel. Consequently, the robot suit started to tumble around spastically.

The fight continued with Doof regaining his composure and taking Perry by the feet, slamming him into the control panel as well. However, Perry simply countered by giving Doof a left hook to the face. Perry then proceeded to pummel Doof in the stomach before delivering a brutal attack to his face. Doof, however, pulled through the attacks. He got up, grabbed Perry, and then pushed him into the control panel, choking him. Punching him several times in the face and stomach, he let Perry suffer until he was coughing up blood.

From outside, everyone watched in horror as Doofenshmirtz had continued to cruelly and mercilessly beat the mammal half to death. Phineas took it especially hard, having lost two of the closest people in his life and about to lose yet another important part of his life.

"Surge, shoot the suit's legs." Crying at the brutal scene he was witnessing, Phineas decided to do whatever he could to help give Perry the upper hand. Surge did as he was told, and Phineas again used the plan of enlarging the artillery directed at Doof. This caused the entire suit to topple on its side, which, in turn, caused Doof to fall as well.

Perry, although still weak, took advantage of the opportunity and crushed Doof's face into the floor of the cockpit. Afterwards, he fiddled around with the control panel a bit more to perhaps lock up the controls, rendering the entire suit unusable. However, the process of mashing as many buttons as possible seemed to have no effect on the suit, except for the wear created from the several times it had toppled. Perry was at a loss for ideas.

Suddenly, Doof came up behind Perry, reaching for him. Perry did a quick backflip and kicked Doof in the face, but Doof was easily able to grab Perry by the hind leg. He swung him around several times throughout the cockpit before finally tossing him out of the cockpit. Perry, in a disoriented state of half-consciousness, could not even land on his feet. He was seconds away from passing out. It was over for him. There was nothing he could do now.

Everyone looked in shock and awe at the disturbing sight before them: Perry the Platypus was seconds away from death. He had been thrown around every possible place in the cockpit. He was a bloody mess now, and he couldn't even find the strength to bring out one last chatter.

"I've become sick and tired of your interference with my plans, Perry the Platypus. Now, did you really think you'd defeat me given such a small space? Seriously, you hurt me a bit, but it's nothing that could have possibly killed me. Now, I've got you in a position where you're absolutely helpless." Suddenly, the remaining arm left on the robot suit sprouted a cannon. "You didn't seriously think I'd waste a perfectly good arm, right? Now, time for the Grand Finale!" He took a few steps forward, aiming the cannon at Perry.

"Surge! Destroy the arm!" Phineas couldn't stand another second of this atrocity.

But he was too late. Within seconds, the cannon started firing bullets at an alarming rate. With Perry laying motionless, there was nothing to do. All everyone could do was watch as dozens of bullets ripped through Perry's small body, spouting large amounts of blood with every new bullet piercing his skin. He was dead within a fraction of a second, but Doof went for overkill. He pushed the arm closer and closer to Perry's mangled, torn-up body until the vast amount of bullets penetrating his skin left him nothing but a pile of innards and a bloody pelt.

"You _**monster**_! You're going to pay for what you just did!" Crying furiously, Phineas knelt to the ground in despair. However, he had one last move in mind to ensure that Doof would get his just desserts. He picked up the Enlarge-inator and shot Surge with it. Suddenly, Surge grew to the size of Doof's robot suit.

"Don't worry, boy. You're gonna be avenged."

"So, it's one creation of mine against another creation of mine? Well, then, let it be. I guess I'll just do what I did five minutes ago." Doof proceeded to grab Surge by the legs, tossing him into the walls of of the fortress. Being a machine, Surge simply regained his composure immediately and shot more large artillery at Doof's robot suit.

"I guess two can play at that game, then." Doof charged up his guns and shot his own artillery at Surge. However, it was no match for Surge's souped-up artillery, courtesy of Phineas and Ferb. Therefore, Doof didn't have much time before his suit would be totally worn-out and destroyed. He had to come up with something quick.

"We've got him now. Any last words, you malicious psychopath?" Monogram felt as though victory was in their grasp, and it was likely so. All Doof could do was stand there in his robot suit as the shields were drained with a constant pummeling by way of explosives and other heavy weapons.

Doof, panicking with no time left to lose, did the only thing he could. He drove the suit's arm forward, hoping to protect the suit long enough for him to escape. The tides had turned. He wasn't in a position of higher power anymore. That is, until one magnificent stroke of luck befell him. The suit managed to catch a gigantic rocket with the arm and was able to simply hold it. This was it. This was his victory.

He drove the suit forward, resisting every explosion that attempted to drive him away. Within about fifteen seconds, he was able to step close enough for the grand finale to occur. He drove the rocket into Surge's torso, impaling him. He then jumped out of the cockpit as fast as possible and ran into a back compartment labeled "EMERGENCY SHELTER".

A beep was heard. And yet another beep. And then the beeps got faster. And _faster_. And _faster. _And _**faster**_, until finally, a loud "boom" shook the entire hall. Large chunks of Surge flew off and scattered throughout the room. One went and knocked the cockpit to Doof's robot suit clean off.

Another was headed directly for Phineas. Phineas, taken aback by the explosion and other recent events, did not even notice the large hunk of metal hurling right towards him.

But Ferb did. In one brave moment of desperation to save his stepbrother, Ferb ran towards Phineas, pulling him away from the large fragment. However, this resulted in the fragment hitting Ferb instead, crushing him from the waist down. He coughed up a few spurts of blood and simply looked at Phineas.

Phineas gasped in horror as his right-hand man lay in front of him, having sacrificed himself to save his stepbrother. "No, Ferb...this can't be happening...you're all I have left in the world...this can't be happening...nothing's right with the world anymore. You can't go, you just can't!" Phineas knelt before his dying stepbrother, embracing him. "This is the worst day ever. You have to pull through, Ferb, you just have to!" He was starting to beg. With Isabella, Perry, and Ferb dying all in the same day, and with Phineas having no other family or friends left, he had nothing left. His entire existence was stripped away from him. His life was over.

"Ph...Phineas..." Ferb mustered enough energy to talk.

"Yes, Ferb?"

"You're the best brother I could have asked for." Ferb coughed up a few spurts of blood. "You made every day great. You're not only an amazing brother, but an amazing _person_. Never stop dreaming. That's what made you _you_. But what you have to do now is live. End this now. You're so—" Ferb had to pause for a few seconds, as he was getting too weak to even talk. "You're so close. _Finish this_. I believe in you, Phineas. Everyone does."

Ferb collapsed into unconsciousness and went pale after a few seconds. There was no doubt now: he was dead. But he was also right. Phineas could avenge all of these lives. He was as close as he could possibly be. The explosion destroyed Doof's suit, and now all Doof had was his own body to use as a weapon. It was three against one. They _had _this in their _grasp_.

Doof opened the compartment in the back of his now-mangled suit to see that all that was left in the fortress was him, Phineas, Percival, and Monogram. "So, now it's just us. Looks like there's only one option left! _Fisticuffs_!" He pulled Percival and Monogram into the center of the Main Hall and threw them to the floor. He then grabbed a remote from his pocket and he pressed the red button on it.

Suddenly, the entire midsection of the hall's floor started to rise. The snow froze into ice, and the three men were slowly raised to a height of nearly three hundred feet. Phineas tried to grab on to the pillar as it was rising, but he was unable to. As a result, he was forced to watch as the three men prepared for the fight to end it all.


	20. Chapter 20: The Fight to End It All

Chapter 20: The Fight to End It All

"So, Doctor, this is how we're going to finish this? Fine with me." Percival charged at Doofenshmirtz and quickly lost his composure, causing him to fall onto the icy floor. He picked himself back up and cracked his back a bit before quickly charging at Doofenshmirtz again. He tackled Doof to the ground and held his arms and legs down, rendering him incapable of getting back up. Monogram then picked him up by his shirt, punched him in the face, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards near the edge. Doof coughed a bit and spat out a few drops of blood.

"Well, then, I've underestimated you two. Still, this fight has only just begun!" Doof charged at Percival and knocked him down by tripping his legs. He then drove Percival's head into the icy floor for a few seconds and kicked him in the stomach. While Percival laid on the floor, writhing in pain, Monogram took hold of Doof and attempted to kick him in the chest. However, Doof was able to take hold of the Major's leg and swing him across the icy platform. He landed on the edge of the pillar; however, he was able to keep himself from falling off.

Meanwhile, at the surface, Phineas was trying to figure out a way he could help Percival and Monogram. He looked at the Enlarge-inator, still in his grasp, and tried to conjure up a way for it to help him in this situation. Suddenly, the gears in his head had started to turn; it had become so entirely obvious to him what he needed to do. He started to gather handfuls of snow from the ground, putting them all into a pile.

Percival continued to lay on the floor, coughing up spurts of blood. "Heh...it surprises me a lot that a clown like you can put up such a good fight." He struggled for a moment, but he was able to pick himself up. He clenched his fists and prepared to throw a right hook straight into Doof's chin. "Are you ready to die, you psychotic bastard?"

"Oh, _please_! Do you _actually _think that you can still put up a decent fight with me? You're done! You've been beaten to a bloody pulp!" Doof grabbed Percival by his shirt. "Got any last words?"

"Yeah, but I'm saving them for people that matter. Not a balls-to-the-wall deranged sack of shit like yourself." Percival broke free from Doof's grip and walked away. "I wouldn't suggest coming anywhere near me unless you plan on dying a very swift death."

"Oh, a challenge? I guess I'll humor you, now that you're pretty much asking for it!" Doof charged at Percival, ready to deliver the final blow.

However, Monogram had picked himself up and was able to sneak up behind Doof. Before he could attack Percival, Monogram placed him in his best headlock, incapacitating him.

"Der Scheiß? Ugh, I can _never_ get out of these! Actually, there's a pretty interesting backstory beh-" Doof's rambling was cut off by Percival's hand covering his mouth.

"We don't want to hear your life story. No one cares, you incessant nutjob! You obliterated an entire city! Think of how many men, women, and _children_ you've killed! This is your punishment." Percival winded up his fist and punched Doof in the gut as hard as he possibly could. Doof coughed up a few spurts of blood as Percival continued to mercilessly beat him.

Doof's anger continued to rise as he was beaten. After about eight hits, he hit his breaking point. "Okay, that's _it_! I'm not getting pushed around anymore!" He struggled for a few seconds and broke himself free from Monogram's headlock. He pushed Monogram away and charged at Percival. After punching him in the face, he tripped Percival by the feet and took hold of his legs. He took a few deep breaths and gathered all the strength he could. He slammed Percival against the floor, picked him back up, and swung him off the pillar.

"By the way, I'm no clown, you fool. My uncle Lukas from Drueselstein, however...that man sure could juggle on a unicycle." Doof chortled evilly as Percival fell to his death.

Monogram looked on as his longtime friend fell to his death. All he could do is shed a tear in sorrow. "That man had a family and a life away from here! He was one of the best men I had ever known! You're going to pay with your _life_ for your crimes against humanity and all that is decent!" The two charged at each other and engaged in a fistfight.

After several minutes, Phineas had constructed a two-foot-tall, five-foot-wide pillar out of snow. He jumped on top of the pillar and held down the trigger on the Enlarge-inator. The pillar continuously rose up in height, surpassing even the ice pillar that the two were fighting on. Phineas stood atop the gargantuan pillar with a clear view of the fight.

Doof briefly paused the fight to look at Phineas in disbelief. "It figures. I've made so many inventions, but I've never thought one would have the possibility to backfire on me this badly. Still, what are _you_ gonna do, kid? You can't even get yourself over here anyways! Even if you did, though, you'd probably have to have some kind of death wish." He laughed it off and then turned around to continue fighting Monogram.

Phineas signaled Monogram by pointing to the left, telling him to get away from Doofenshmirtz. Monogram simply nodded by strafing to the left. He spent a few seconds packing a snowball, and gave Monogram one last reaffirming nod. Beads of sweat dripped down his face; this could be his only shot at finishing Doof once and for all.

"Why are you running away all of a sudden, Francis? Are you scared? Come here and fight me like a rea-" Doof was cut off by a loud zap. He turned around and looked on in shock.

There it was.

His untimely demise.

A giant snowball.

Hurling right towards him.

"And now, I have a two ton ball of snow traveling 200 miles per hour directly at me!" Doof let out a loud yelp as the snowball sent him flying into the icy wall. Both him and the snowball fell to the ground three hundred feet below. In his dying moments, Doof took out a small remote from his pants pocket. The remote had an all-too-familiar label on it, with an all-too-familiar red button below. Doof pressed the button and then faded away into death's sweet embrace, subtly grinning at the victory he was about to posthumously achieve.

It was the self-destruct button.

Suddenly, the entire hall started to rumble, and a series of video screens turned on throughout the hall. The text on them read "A Message from Heinz Doofenshmirtz", and then it cut to prerecorded footage of the doctor's message. Speakers popped out every few feet around the walls, and Doof began to talk.

"Hello, future corpses. Because you're hearing this right now, I'm pretty sure you've killed me. Well, that was mean of you. And if you haven't killed me, then I sure hope I've escaped or something...Anyways, here it goes. Since you've come this far to kill me, I've decided that it's only fair if I return the favor! Basically, this entire place is about to collapse. Have a nice last minute or two of your lives!"

The screens shut off.

The speakers retracted back into the walls.

The ceiling started to rumble.

The ice pillar started to rise.

Phineas and Monogram were doomed.


	21. Chapter 21: Looking For A Way Out

Chapter 21: Looking For A Way Out

Phineas and Monogram looked below them as they tried to formulate a way to escape the fortress as it was collapsing. Both of them, sadly, drew blanks. Phineas tried to put all of his creative genius together to prevent their certain doom, but he couldn't think of one thing he could do.

_Well, this is it...ugh, call this a bittersweet victory. I mean, we managed to kill the guy, but it looks like it's at the cost of our entire lives. At least I can die happy knowing that no one else is gonna die from this monster after me._

Phineas and Monogram looked on and shed a tear as pieces of the ceiling started to crumble up and fall.

_Even then, I don't even care that I'm staring death in the face. What's really killing me is what he was able to accomplish before we got to him. Fine, I'm going to die. But that's not enough for him. He had to kill my entire family, all of my friends, and everyone I've ever known._

_He took away my entire livelihood._

_He nabbed my sister. She may have been a bit high-strung, but she was my sister! I grew up with her all my life! She was always trying to protect me...and I couldn't protect her the one time she needed it! Candace, you're amazing. I'll always love you. And for all the times you were there for me...thank you. You saved my skin more times than I could've ever repaid you for. I know you were never crazy. You're just the best sister a boy could ask for._

_Then, there's Ferb. The only guy who knew me better than I knew myself. We did everything together. Without him, I'm positive this summer would've been just as ordinarily boring as any other part of the year. I could never ask for anyone more important in my life than him. Ferb, even if I miraculously made it out of here...without you, I'd feel like an amputee. We were one-of-a-kind, man. Brothers for life._

_And then, of course, Isabella. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella...I can barely even think of you right now without collapsing. All these years, I had no idea...but you know, I guess I always sort of felt things in that regard as well. It's just...childhood innocence, you know? I never really thought about a romantic opportunity with you until it hit me square in the face. I've loved you all my life, Isabella. Thanks for showing me that. But now, I just look back on my memory of you and all I see is nothing but despair that I couldn't save you. And on top of everything, I'm sorry I didn't see your romantic interest in me until this whole thing came up...nothing pains me more than the thought of the torture you endured for so long._

_And then, our beloved pet platypus. Perry, you were...Perry...wait a second..._

"Wait a second, I've got it!" The mere thought of Perry brought back everything in Phineas's mind. His own pet platypus, his own secret agent pet platypus...with a secret agent utility belt...with a pack of pocket grenades packed right in! There was still hope yet!

"Major Monogram, follow my lead!" Phineas waited for a clear opportunity to make a jump with no rubble from the ceiling obstructing his path. He stuffed the Enlarge-inator back into his pants pocket. After a few seconds, he jumped from the ice pillar to the quickly-melting enlarged snow pillar. He slowly slid down, dodging more rubble on his way. "Quickly get down here before it's too late!" Phineas shouted to Monogram as the pillar got even closer to the ceiling.

Monogram took a few deep breaths, looked up, and stepped back. He then ran across the ice pillar, preparing to jump. However, before he took the jump, a piece of rubble fell onto the ice in front of him, and he tripped. Falling to his certain doom, Monogram attempted one last-resort move: he kicked his feet against the ice pillar, flying him towards the snow pillar. With only about ten feet left below him, he was able to latch onto the pillar before he hit the ground. Seconds later, Phineas returned to the surface as well.

"Perfect! Now, excuse me while I get the utility belt!" Phineas ran over to Perry's body. Tears flowed through his eyes as he looked at the remains of his dead pet, but this wasn't the time. He knew what he had to do, and he knew he had to act fast. He picked up Perry's utility belt and picked off the last remaining pocket grenade. "Let's hope this works, because if not, we're done for..."

Phineas ran back to the ice pillar, dodging several giant blocks of rubble falling from the sky as he got ready to throw the pocket grenade. He pulled the pin and immediately threw it a foot above the pillar's base. Finally, he took the Enlarge-inator out of his pocket and blasted a ray right at the grenade.

He crossed his fingers, waiting for the result.

And then, there it was. _Boom._

The smoke cleared, revealing a large enough hole in the ice for both Phineas and Monogram to fit inside. Everything was going fully according to plan.

"Major Monogram, get over here quickly! We have to jump in the hole before we-" Phineas looked over to Major Monogram. What he saw was severely unsettling, to say the least: The man had gotten knocked to the ground by one piece of rubble; he was pinned by another larger piece. Then, one last piece hit him in the head with enough force to puncture his skull. He was dead.

Phineas couldn't waste any time, though. He wanted to check if Monogram was all right, but the apparent injuries showed that he was most likely already dead. Just as well, there was no way he could get immediate medical attention, even if he was still alive. Phineas jumped into the hole in the ice pillar and took cover with another large piece of rubble. He waited until he no longer felt the ground shake or heard rubble dropping. About fifteen minutes passed before it was safe to get out again. He climbed out of the pillar and he was astounded.

* * *

Everything was obliterated. The entire Main Hall was reduced to rubble, and the pillar was the only thing still standing. All of the pillars had knocked down, and the air was filled with smoke. The rubble piled up across the entire surface of the hall about two feet high. The steel walls had retracted; all that was left were plain walls that had, for the most part, been torn down.

Phineas coughed twice and walked across the pile of rubble out the door of the former fortress. He walked down the trail he had walked up to initially arrive at the fortress. The journey, although it seemed a lot longer alone, gave him ample time to contemplate how his life had been going up to that point.

_And so, there we go. It's all over. But where do I go from here? I still don't have a way out of Antarctica, and I don't have any food. All I can do at this point is wander._

_Still, what's the point of even wanting to get out? I've lost everything and everyone that ever had any sort of meaning in my life anyways. This last week or two had everything bad happen that could have ever possibly happened to anyone. It almost seems like a crazy dream, but I definitely know better and am able to realize that it's not a dream at all. This is one sick, twisted reality._

_And I'm the only one left._

Suddenly, Phineas found himself standing in front of an all-too-familiar sight: Norm was in front of him, still serving as a bridge to the next glacier. Far below, he also knew what resided on a small glacier floating across the water; it was Isabella's body. Right then and there, he decided exactly what he wanted to do next. He climbed down the glacier, retrieved her body, and carried it back up. Although it was very difficult to do so, and he could barely find the strength to both carry her and climb a glacier at once, he had been able to find certain grooves in the ice that could allow him to climb up and pull Isabella up afterwards.

Then, he laid her out at the center of the glacier's surface. He laid himself down next to her and held her hand. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off into the unconscious haven of sleep.

_And I think this is how I'll live out the time I have left._

* * *

Suddenly, Phineas awoke to the sound of a helicopter flying above him.

He could not hear anything. He was barely even conscious. His face was freezing and he felt like he was about to die. Tears and mucus had frozen on his face and he had no ability to move a single muscle.

"We've found him! Get him up here so we can get him to safety!" The feminine voice ringed through Phineas's ears for several seconds, but he could not comprehend it.

All he could feel was himself being propped up and whisked away. As he drifted back out of consciousness, he could faintly feel a patting over his face and a whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry, Phineas, you're gonna be all right..."


	22. Epilogue: One Last Big Idea

EPILOGUE: One Last Big Idea

_So, it's actually been a whole year._

_I can't stop saying that to myself nowadays. It's been an entire year._

_One year since Danville was obliterated. One year since I escaped death several times._

_One year since I lost everything._

_ It's kind of frightening to think about, actually, considering how different things have become. After everything was said and done, Vanessa took me to a hospital out in Poventown, and they kept me there for about a week. Afterwards, I went to visit my aunt and uncle who moved to Poventown shortly after they got married._

_ They had seen the tragedy on the news, and they could barely believe it. Honestly, I still couldn't believe it. In the last couple of weeks since I had arrived there, I had completely lost everything I could have ever connected to my old life. Still, after a little while of talking, they decided they'd adopt me so that I'd be able to stay with family._

_ About a month later, I was enrolled in Poventown Middle School. The kids there were much different than those in Danville. There were no Ferbs, no Isabellas, no Irvings, and very few Baljeets. Everyone else seemed to be more of a Buford type. I usually spent my days as an onlooker, though; I never talked much at all in school. When I got home, I would just go upstairs into my room and think of the old days. Back when things were easier. Less complicated._

_ I never went out of the house besides school. The first few months of school, people always were trying to make friends with me. I was "that mysterious quiet kid in the corner" to all of them. They wanted to know more about me, but I kept myself completely closed off. I always talked less than Ferb, even on a good day._

_A few months later, though, I guess I started to open up a bit._

_ It was around February. I walked into school and wasn't paying attention to where I was going. All of a sudden, I bumped into this one kid, causing him to drop all his books and papers. I apologized to him, because hey, post-traumatic depression is no excuse for bad manners. Among the mess of papers, I noticed a folded-up piece of blueprint paper. I picked it up for him, but then it aroused my curiosity. I decided to unfold it._

_A rollercoaster._

"So, you're into building stuff?"_ I decided to ask him. Maybe this could be a change for the better in my life, I thought._

"Yeah, I've been building stuff for the last couple of years. The name's Nick. You're Phineas, right?" _Guess he'd heard of me._

"Yeah. Phineas Flynn. I like to build stuff as well. In fact, I've actually built a rollercoaster before, if you need help with that."_ Might've come off a little smug or something, but I felt like it would be best to note that we did have some common ground._

"I'm not doing the rollercoaster yet. That's a project I've been working on and hope to have ready for the first day of summer."_ That one had taken me aback for a second. A part of me, even today, feels like that couldn't have been just a mere coincidence. _"Today, we're going to make snowball cannons and break the world record for the world's biggest snowball fight! Be at my house at 4:30. You'll have fun."

_ He was right. That day was like a blast from the past. I had let go of all of my inhibitions, all of my past, and all of my inner demons. The world felt like it once was. Everything felt right. There was nothing comparable to the feeling of finally getting out there again and taking that first shot and hitting Nick square in the face with a nice, cold snowball._

_This was it._

_This was my new life. In Poventown._

_Although the Phineas Flynn of the past was still a part of me, all of the trauma was gone now. It was just like the old days._

_ Nick and I started hanging out every day. He was my new man of action. We built fantastic contraptions every day after school. _

_We built simple gadgets like phones, hologram projectors, and five-dimensional bumper cars. _

_We made a four hundred-foot-tall building with a giant fan at the bottom that we used for a new, complex sport that we invented. A sport, may I add, that has now gained fame nationally. We call it Phinball._

_We invented a new serum that made vegetables taste like candy. Big hit for the kindergarteners._

_It was just like old times._

_ At least, that's what I believed. It didn't hit me until months later that I could never truly run away from my past. It just took one more massive heartbreak to smack the sense back into me again._

* * *

_ It was May. One month before that long-awaited return to the bliss of summer vacation. Nick came to me and told me he was moving halfway across the country on account of his dad's job being transferred. It was a quick goodbye. I helped him pack his things and he left. He left me all alone, leaving behind only the blueprints for his rollercoaster. I guess he had left it to me as a memento or something._

_ The good thing to come out of the move was that it really opened my eyes. I finally had come to terms with something I had tried to deny for almost an entire year: All of the things that encompassed my life in Danville were gone. The void I was so desperately trying to fill could not have possibly been refilled. _

_Ferb, my dear brother and partner in crime, was gone._

_Candace, my loving sister and role model, was gone._

_Isabella, the world's best assistant and the love of my life, was gone._

_My mother, gone._

_My father, gone._

_All of my friends, gone, gone, gone._

_My old life was over, and I could not bring myself to a new way of life for one simple reason, no matter how cliché it is:_

_You only live once._

_For me, that one life was over._

_I was dead. Devoid of any life, thought, or emotion._

_Just a shell of a kid that should have never lived through the things that he had lived through._

_Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz destroyed everything in my life, and it was just a crazy dream of mine that I could get any of it back. It was impossible. Lives like mine came one-in-a-million._

_I was the luckiest kid in the world to have lived that "one" for eleven years._

_And I think it's time I go back. And this time, it won't just be a dream._

_Today is June 4, the first day of summer vacation. And today, I'm going home._

* * *

Phineas Flynn looked on at the completed work: his old friend's rollercoaster, brought to life through hours upon hours of hard work. It had everything that they planned it would have. Every detail of the blueprints was worked into the ride. The tracks had more loop-de-loops and sharp turns than the eye could see. Hell, it even had an "AAAA" for old time's sake.

But the main attraction was the car used for the ride. It was a gold-colored chariot built for two. The brightness of the sunset reflecting off the back provided an image of the utmost elegance. It was only fit for a champion of human existence. Someone who had been through the worst of times and had made it out unscathed.

A champion by the name of Phineas Flynn.

Phineas Flynn. A champion of human existence, now a twelve-year-old screaming joyously, his hair flowing in the wind, whipping around sharp curves at eighty miles-per-hour in a gold chariot that looked like it could have been stolen from a Roman gladiator and taken to the future. It was truly a glorious sight.

At the end of the ride, though, was quite the twist one would not expect.

It was a brick wall connected to the end of the tracks.

On the back of it read "Welcome Home".

Phineas enjoyed the ride more and more as time went on. And he knew exactly the reason why.

Suddenly, the chariot expanded so that it could fit seven.

Phineas looked to his right to find his brother, Ferb. He was smiling.

He looked to his left to find his love, Isabella. She was smiling.

He looked down and found his dear pet, Perry, in his lap, laying comfortably. He was smiling.

He looked around and saw Buford and Baljeet, both smiling.

Plastered to the wall behind him was Candace. She screamed, but she was still smiling.

Breathing over his shoulder was Irving. He, too, was smiling.

Off to the side, Linda and Lawrence looked on. They were smiling and waving at Phineas.

Love Händel stood atop the chariot, blasting a rock ballad with smiles on their faces.

The rest of the people of Danville looked on, cheering at the spectacular rollercoaster and its heroic passengers.

By now, the ride was nearly over.

Phineas smiled and braced for impact.


End file.
